Corruption of a Lonely Soul
by Shidaizu
Summary: For three years, she'd been attending the DWMA. As an average student,she never thought she stood out much, and her weapons were her only companions for the longest time. She soon gets her big chance to catch up with the class, and then some.
1. Parties and paranoia

**Okay so I decided to rewrite some of this. Its generally the same but a few things have been fixed. I hope it's an enjoyable story.**

**Once again it is my first Soul Eater fic. So go easy on me ok.  
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** Soul Eater is not mine.  
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><p>Welcom to Death City, home of the Death Weapon Meister Academy. Where students work to maintain order in the world by collecting the souls of Kishin eggs, and creating powerful weapons for the grim reaper himself. Although for one particular meister, that task was becoming more tedious with each passing day.<p>

Nothing Special, thats always been Ayelis' veiws on herself. Not that it was ever a big deal, She never really minded being ordinary. She didn't have any other skills to boast about. She was just an average meister, attending classes at the DWMA. Or at least she always thought of herself as a sort of plain person. She wasn't overly good looking or anything, and she didn't have any particular charms with boys. Of course she had never really tried to asociate with anyone.

Though belittled by her own thoughts, she did however, look up to some of the others in the school. Like Black star and Tsubaki. The two of them always seemed to work well together. Not to mention How strong Black Star is. Maka and Soul were a great pair as well. The scythmeister had awesome soul perception. Probably the best the academy has ever seen. Soul was just cool altogether. A level headed kind of guy. Ayelis couldn't really compare to any of them at all.

Then there was the son of Lord Death himself, Death the Kid. Ayelis admired the bond he had with his weapons, and he was one hell of a meister. With Liz and Patty by his side, the three were incredible. Maybe it was envy, or maybe it was admiration. Ayelis was never really sure. All she really knew was, if she could even come close to what they had all achieved, she doubted she'd feel so out of place.

Vizy and Lyall Reinhard, were her two best friends, and her weapon partners. The former was always more than a handfull at times, but he was a good laugh, and the latter was the quiet one ninety percent of the time. Ayelis never really understood why the two of them were so different, but she had accepted it a long time ago. Both of them had helped her out through thick and thin. They were like her brothers, and she wouldn't trade them for anything or anyone.

So far though, the trio's soul collection count was zero. Ayelis was not the greatest meister, or she seemed to bring herself down about it most of the time. Her social skills, or rather lack there of, didn't really help her much. She had tried asking for help with her lessons, but she always seemed to get so frustrated, and overreact, no matter who it was she talked to. Professor Stein was more intimidating than Lord Death at times, and The only friends Ayelis really had were Vizy and Lyall. It was never her intention to come off as antisocial, but the way things were. Thats exactly how it seemed to some people.

"YO! Ayelis! Wake the hell up!"

"Vizy! Come on, leave her alone."

"Shut up, Lyall! She's gotta get up!" he shook the girl from her peacful sleep, "Ayelis! Dude, we're late for class!"

"Huh? OH NO! Sorry guys!"

The three of them started another day, at the DWMA. Ayelis grabbed her things, running out the door at top speed. Her partners following behind her. This was the routine for almost every day of the trio's lives. Very seldom was it that they were ever on time. Perhaps once in the previous year, they had been on time. Ayelis had been sure Proffessor Stein would love to do some kind of experiment on them ,to put an end to the three's tardiness. Half the time they were left to stand out in the hall for being late. it was no wonder the three of them were so far behind in class.

"Ayelis, you know, maybe you should set your alarm an hour earlier?" the boy shrugged.

"Lyall...why did you wait til now to suggest that? We could of had a better attendance the whole time!" she was frustrated again.

"Maybe cuz he's an idiot. Besides, if you're so smart, how come you didn't just think of it yourself?"

"Shut it Vizy!" Ayelis was not impressed. Vizy was always picking on the two of them.

When the group was finally allowed back into the classroom, Ayelis was taken a bit off guard to be greeted by Maka, and Tsubaki. she hadn't expected the pair to be waiting for her. She was curious of what the other two girls could want. The two of them would talk to her sometimes, but she hadn't really considered them friends. Even Liz and Patty had made the effort to talk to Ayelis every now and then. Kid, Black Star, and Soul too. They had all made the attempt at some point to be friendly with her. She would occasionally wave or greet them as they passed one another in the hallway, but that was about all.

"Hey Ayelis."Maka's voice was bright and chipper as she greeted her classmate."Listen, I know you're behind in class..." Ayelis cringed. Apparently her incompetence was a popular topic. Maka continued though,"Tsubaki and I were thinking, and we don't mind letting you use our notes to catch up."

She was quite surprised with their offer, "You don't mind? I... would appreciate it. Thank you."

"Sure, Its no big deal. We are your classmates." Ayelis sighed. Tsubaki and Maka were like that, and out of her two partners, Lyall was the only reliable one. Unfortunatley he was in the same boat as his meister... failing.

Both girls smiled at her, and handed Ayelis their notes. It would certainly help, and at that point she thought she should consider talking to them more. She did sit behind them in class. It wasn't like they were really overbearing, like their partners Soul and Black Star. Soul was ok, but when the two got together all hell broke loose. She had been watching out the window, the day the both of them had decided to take on Kid. She had found it rather amusing when they got their asses royally kicked.

It seemed to Ayelis the only male with any intelligence in the group would have to be Death the Kid, and even he was not all there sometimes either. Ayelis often wondered to herself, how anyone could be so obsessed over something like symmetry. She herself liked to be coordinated, but she was not obsessed with it. It was creepy sometimes. How Liz and Patty put up with it, she thought she would never understand. Although the memory of her own moron of a partner, made her think that perhaps she did understand in a way.

She thought back to it, the first time Vizy had picked a fight with Black Star. The idiot went in thinking he was going to whoop their butts. He lost of course. He had neglected to enlist the help of his own meister, and was easily beat to a pulp. That never really stopped Vizy though, and just pissed him off a lot that he kept losing. Maka was lucky. Soul could be a jerk, but he wasn't stupid. Kid is obsessive, not stupid. It just seemed like it happened at the worst possible times for Liz and Patty. In any case, Lyall balanced out any issues that ayelis had with Vizy, and vice versa.

Class had been dismissed, and Ayelis and the boys made their way to the door. It was nice of Maka and Tsubaki to lend her their notebooks, and it brightened her day a little bit. The girl had been lost in her thoughts, as she didn't notice Liz and Patty had blocked her way.

"Hey! Ayelis! Hellooo?"

"Oh! I'm sorry Liz. Uh... was there something you needed?"

"YUP! Liz was gonna ask if you guys were going to the party or not!" Patty spoke in her usual bubbly way.

Party? Ayelis wasn't fond of big social events, "Well I don't usually..."

"Come on Ayelis! You never go to these things!" Vizy grabbed his meister's arm, giving her a look that creeped her out more than anything. "PLEASE?"

"You know, it couldn't hurt. Why not Ayelis?"

_Lyall_ even wanted her to go? "I suppose not. Where exactly is it?", Ayelis was sure she would regret the decision at some point.

"Where do you think? Kid's place!" Black star spoke up, seemingly proud of being the first one to answer her question. He and the others had been listening, and had already made their way to join the conversation.

"So we'll see you there then?" Liz was looking at Ayelis with pleading eyes. Why would she want her there so badly anyway?

Ayelis gave a defeated sigh, and nodded in agreement. The Thompson sisters seemed like they were overjoyed with the outcome. She on the otherhand, was a little uneazy about the whole thing. She didn't do parties. Vizy and Lyall had gone to a few, but she had never gone with them. Ayelis didn't hate fancy stuff like that, but she didn't really partake in it either. Hence another reason why she didn't go to these things, she had nothing fancy to wear. She always just did her best with Blacks and purples. Black slacks, and blouse, and a simple, purple vest. Her general attire, and there was nothing special about that. Ayelis apparently had no choice in the matter at this point though.

If you could call it luck, or their own evil plotting. Liz and Patty were up for a shopping trip, and Maka and Tsubaki were coming along for the ride. A girls afterschool shopping spree was exactly how things were turning out. Not exactly how Ayelis had pictured spending her afternoon. She had never done this sort of thing, nor did it interest her in starting, but the girls had insisted on it. She had a pained expression at the thought of Vizy laughing at her, and she had no idea what Lyall would think of her. Embarrassment was but a step away, and it was mocking the poor girl at every turn.

It didn't take long for Liz to pick out something for the smaller girl. Although Ayelis was not sure if she liked it. Short Red dresses were NOT her style at all. She shook her head at Liz, and continued looking around. Maka had found a nice white dress, with frilled edges, it suited her just fine. Tsubaki, had found a wonderful blue, silk dress, with a high collar. It looked so elegent on her. Ayelis only wished she had half the figure Tsubaki did. She didn't exactly have the body of a supermodel, and often felt awkward for having almost nothing to her. As long as she didn't look foolish, and her colors matched, Ayelis didn't really care all that much.

Liz and Patty had found themselves some nice outfits. The two sisters seemed to enjoy the time, browsing through everything. For Liz, a low cut top, and rather short skirt. Ayelis could swear if she bent over you'd see everything! For Patty, A simple red dress, down to her knees, with a pink frilled neckline. Patty's outfit seemed just fine, but Liz seemed like she was out to impress. Maybe Ayelis' own taste was just too different from theirs. She didn't see the point in showing off so much. Then again, if she had the shape to do it, maybe she would have thought about it a little more.

Everyone had already picked out something nice, but Ayelis still hadn't found anything she liked. She didn't care for a lot of what Liz would keep picking out. Showy and sexy tops and skirts were really not her cup of tea, and apparently Liz didn't seem to catch on. It was Tsubaki who finally pulled her aside, and showed her an outfit that she deemed suitable for the occasion. She held out a deep purple lengthy dress. Simple vine patterns decorated it in specs of silver and black, and the neckline was just above the collar bone. The sleeves were black lace, and it had lots of room to breath. It was a comfortable, yet ellegant dress.

"Thanks Tsubaki. I didn't think I'd ever find something I liked." Ayelis gave her a sheepish grin. She was getting more uncomfortable with the whole party idea by the minute.

"Sure. Its no problem." the taller girl smiled back.

"So are we ready to go? I have to get back and get cleaned up!" Liz seemed so worried that she may miss something if they didn't hurry.

Ayelis nodded her head, and the group of teenage girls were off. Maka and Tsubaki reassured, that Ayelis would have a good time. She was sceptical on it though. She could picture Vizy laughing his head off at her, saying she actually looked like a girl for once. Ayelis wasn't a tomboy or anything. She just didn't dress all girly. Lyall would go along with whatever she wanted most of the time. She supposed he was the one who helped her with her insecurities the most.

It was time to get ready for the party, and Ayelis was on the brink of a nervous breakdown. Couldn't she have had an extra lesson or something to go to instead? They were all waiting though, and she had said she'd be there. It would have been stupid to back out now.

Both her partners looked like they were ready for a date. Dress shirts and slacks, made them both exceptionally good looking. If Ayelis had been any other girl, she probably would have swooned over them. However, to her it was just absurd to think like that about them. Beides, Vizy had a thing for someone else, and Ayelis never really knew what Lyall thought. He was a shy guy anyway. Ayelis had never considered seeing anyone. She just wanted to get through class every day without any distractions or problems, and get her grades back up.

When the trio arrived at the party, Kid was greeting everyone with a smile. Liz and Patty were with him at the door, both happy to see the lot of people showing up. Something told Ayelis, it was the girls' idea to have this party in the first place. She simply guessed they just got bored and wanted to liven up the night life or something.

Maka and the others were already there, and It wasn't surprising that they spotted the group, and headed in their direction to greet them. Even Chrona had showed up this evening, all dressed in a nice white suit. He looked better off than Ayelis did, and he had good reason to be nervous all the time. She was out of her element entirely. Liz had gone strait up to the girl with a huge smile plastered on her face. She was genuinely happy to see the her there.

"Hey guys! Glad you could make it. By the way, That dress looks awesome on you Ayelis."

"Uh yes, Thank you Liz." she was still not sure about all of this. Although she had to laugh, when Vizy's eyes nearly bulged out of his head at Liz's outfit. Despite that it had been trashy looking on the rack in the store, Liz pulled off the look perfectly. Ayelis now had a very good idea, of who her partner had a crush on.

"Ayelis! Wooo! Look at all the pretty dresses!" Patty was so clueless, but it was probably one of her best qualities when you really thought about it. It gave her an innocent personality.

"Well, shall we get this party started?" Kid's voice broke through Patty's laughter. Looking sharp as always in a suit and tie.

Ayelis smiled. It seemed like everyone was truely in good spirits that night. They all followed the trio inside. To Ayelis' surprise, Lyall had actually been teasing his brother about the small incident outside. Vizy denied every word of it, though the reddish tint on his face told everyone otherwise.

Ayelis scanned the crowd, and the room. She could see just how particular Kid really was with everything. Even the buffet and punch bowls were arranged symmetrically on the tables. Not one picture out of place, and the furniture was arranged perfectly around the room. Perhaps obsessive was too light of a term for him? She spotted Maka and Soul sharring a dance. Soul leading as his meister tried so hard not to step on his toes. Ayelis didn't have a clue about how to dance, and admired Maka's bravery for trying.

Black star was digging into the food and refreshments like he hadn't eaten in days. Poor Tsubaki, just smiled and laughed at his antics. Ayelis really did wonder how she managed to put up with such a character for a partner. Then she looked over to find Vizy stuffing his own face, and remebered that she had a similar partner of her own. Ayelis' expression turned to one of disgust as she watched her weapon gourg on the food before him. She was sure she'd be sick if she ate like that, and her stomache was turning simply from the thought of it.

She watched the students around the room. All of them seemed so happy and carefree right now. No wonder Kid threw so many parties for all of them. It was a good way to lift ones soul from anything that may be depressing them. She had to admitt, she was delighted to be there, and her nerves seemed to be calming down a lot as the party went on. Ayelis was no social butterfly, but maybe she could get used to being around others more. After all, she was only fifteen, and wasn't life for living?

She could see Lyall hanging around Patty, a quiet expression as always, but he was smiling. She could see the presence of affection on the corners of his lips. Ayelis dropped her gaze, as she felt like the only one without someone to linger around all night. The thought brought a frown to her face. It had never occured to her before that she was alone, not on such a deep level. She had Vizy and Lyall, but it was nowhere near the same thing. Ayelis was dissapointed in herself once again, as she made her way to a corner close to a window, and merely watched as the people all mingled and laughed with each other.

It wasn't untill later on that it really began to bother her, the lingering feeling of loneliness that seemed to follow her wherever she went. Vizy and Lyall, both had their partners to mingle with for the evening, those being Liz and Patty. Maka had Soul, Tsubaki had Black Star, Ox had Kim. Hell even Chrona was lucky enough to find a girl who would talk with him. Kid was busy with the majority of the guests, making his rounds and ensuring everyone was enjoying themselves. He had wondered in her direction once, seeing if she was having a goo time. Ayelis merely gave him a smile and nodded, and he was gone again. It just seemed... unfair in some way.

Who was she trying to fool anyway? Ayelis came to a party, where everyone had a pair but herself. She had been hoping, that maybe she'd find someone that wouldn't mind keeping her company for the evening.

"How selfish am I?"

She didn't even have the potential to make Vizy and Lyall into Deathscythes. Next thing you know, she would be expelled for being the worst meister in the history of the DWMA. Her failure would be the laughing stock of the entire academy.

"Maybe I should just go home?" she felt she wasn't going to fit in at the party any time soon. Ayelis sat collecting her thoughts, trying to decide on if she should leave or not.

"Maybe I should see Lord Death about some extra lessons?" or perhaps she should stop talking out loud to herself, as it was earning her odd glances from other people.

She could have used something to take her mind away from the subject of loneliness. Who knows, maybe she would collect a few souls this time around. As she stood up to leave her corner, Ayelis was lost in thought again. All the things she could be doing to try and catch up in class, instead of being there at a party. Self pity seemed to take over her once more, but she shook her head out of it. She would have to stop with that. Maybe she could learn a thing or two from Black Star on that topic. He should be giving a class on it, confidence 101.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and Ayelis turned to find Maka and Soul, looking at her with such troubled faces. She felt guilty, for causing them to worry so much about her.

"Hello Maka, Soul."

"Ayelis, is something wrong?" Maka stared at her. She could see the concern in her eyes as she questioned her. "You look like somone important to you just died."

"No, I'm all right. Just tired, and I need to get some studdying done anyway." she gave them both a small smile, "I wouldn't want to waste the opportunity you and Tsubaki have given me." Ayelis was truely grateful to them both for lending her their notebooks.

"Hey, come on. Why not lighten up a little? Right Maka?"

"Soul's right, and normally he's the one moping around at parties."

She gave a meek smile to Soul. They really were trying. "It's ok really. I think I just need some air maybe."

"Okay, but if you need to talk, just let me know." Maka reasured her. It was really a nice feeling.

Ayelis nodded her head, thanking them both. She would have to call them her friends from now on. Every one of them had spoken to her all throughout the night, making sure she was alright, and that she was at least having fun. Ayelis had been having a good time, just a bit of a lonely one all the same.

She passed by Vizy and Liz, who were both giving her worried looks as she walked by. Vizy could be a jackass at times, but he did care about his meister. Tsubaki watched along with Lyall, knowing all too well that Ayelis wasn't feeling up for the celebration. She said her good-byes and good-nights to everyone, and headed on her way home, leaving her partners behind. She could have sworn though, the entire night it felt like someone was watching her. Someone other than Maka, or any of the girls. She couldn't really tell who it was, and it didn't seem like it was a bad or malevolent sort of feeling. More of an observing, and a sympathetic feeling resonated from it. Ayelis brushed it off though without a second thought. It was nothing new to her, to have someone starring her way for one reason or another. Even after all this, Ayelis still felt like parites, really weren't her thing after all.

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><p><strong>And tada! Like it? don't like it? Tell how I can make it better, or whatnot. Leave me a review ^_^<strong>


	2. The Assignment is Set

**And on to chapter two**. **Enjoy.**

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><p>It had been a long evening, and Ayelis was soon looking forward to a good nights sleep. After going through some of the notes that Maka and Tsubaki had loaned her, she was more than ready to get some rest. She undressed, let down her hair, and put on her night clothes. Ready to lock the doors and drift away into the wonderful peace known as sleep. Thats when she had realized, Vizy and Lyall, han't come home yet. Ayelis was beinning to worry. Usually Lyall would be home by now, and it never took long for Vizy to follow. At that moment though, that hadn't been the case. So instead of sleeping, She propped herself up by the window of their appartment. Watching and waiting for her partners to be walking up the streets of Death City, and on their way home.<p>

"I hope they're all right."

She was talking to herself again, just thinking out loud really. She couldn't really help it though, thats just how she was. Ayelis thought about the events that had occured in the last month or so. The Kishin Ashura had been beaten, and the madness had receeded for now. Maka and Soul had managed to collect all 99 souls, and a witch soul. The whole academy was overjoyed when the news came. Lord Death held the ceremony, and that had been that. Soul was a death-scyth.

She remembered congradulating them on the event, and Maka's kind words. She was so sure Ayelis would make Vizy and Lyall into deathscyths. She reassured her of it, so enthusiastically. Yet here she was, with not one soul for either of them. She felt like she had become such a let down, but she still continued to try. After all, Maka and Soul thought she could do it. That was reason enough not to quit right?

Her thoughts were trailing every wich way, as she continued to watch out the window. The moon was still watching over Death City with that devilish grin it always seemed to have. Though Ayelis could see the squinting rays of light from the sun, starting to poke through the blackness.

"Where are they?"

She stood up, more worried now that the break of day was on its way. This wasn't right. The boys should have been home by now, so where were they? She watched a little longer, and decided that she should go look for them. They had been at Gallows Manor all night, that she was aware of, and she was sure someone would have called to let her know if anything had happened. Where else would they go?

Ayelis was getting frantic, pacing around her room, glancing out the window every few seconds. After about twenty minutes, the girl had enough. She hadn't slept, she was tired as hell, and she was not amused by the current situation. Getting dressed once again, she imediately headed out the door. Scanning the streets for her partners, as she sprinted in the direction of the manor. Feeling it was best to check the last known place they would have been. Ayelis suddenly wished that she could use soul perception like Maka and Kid. Maybe it would have helped her to find her partners. It would have certainly made things easier.

She came up to the large doors of the manor, just as the suns rays broke completely through the dark sky. She just had to ask Kid and the girls, they would know what happened to Vizy and Lyall. They had to know. She reached to knock, hoping that nothing serious had happened. She was shocked at first, but soon became enraged at the same time when the doors opened to greet her.

"Oh hey Ayelis. Damn, you look like hell."

There stood Vizy, looking his meister over with a blank expression. She was fighting back the urge to kill the both of them. Where was Lyall? He had to know she would be angry with them. Peering past Vizy's shoulder, she saw a few other students still lingering around. Apparently the boys weren't the only ones who hadn't made it home that night.

"The party went longer than we thought. So we ended up staying here." he grinned at her, shrugging his shoulders as if it were no big deal.

"And Neither of you thought to call me? YOU HAD ME WORRIED SICK!"

Ayelis was ready to beat him sensless. She had gotten no sleep whatsoever, thinking that something had happened. When they were still here at Gallows Manor the whole time. She was going to tear them both appart! She spotted Lyall walking towards them, and sent him a glare that might even have sent a kishin running. He stopped in his tracks, and his face paled. Lyall knew his meister was angry.

"Ayelis! I'm sorry, we should have called. But Patty and Liz..."

"Both of you... home...now." she didn't want to hear it.

They may have been like brothers to her, but they certainly weren't the older or more mature ones if that was the case. Ayelis felt like she was babysitting half the time with Vizy. But for Lyall to do something so irresponsible? Oh no, she was not impressed.

Liz and Patty were both watching the little exchange, and neither of them were willing to step up and try to calm the other girl down. Kid was nowhere in sight, but Ayelis was sure he'd be made aware of the problem soon enough. She turned on her heels, catching a glimps of Black Star still inside, groaning over an overly stuffed belly. She was unamused. Just wait untill they all got home, they'd hear it from her in full force then. It was unusual for Ayelis to get so worked up. However, after a night with no sleep, and not knowing where her two partners were all night. She was seriously pissed off. It was enough really to make anyone cranky.

When the trio arrived back at the appartment, both boys braced themselves as soon as the door was shut. They were right in doing so. Ayelis exploded, so much so that the two of them were clutching one another, cowering in fear. Lyall had never seen his meister this upset with either of them. He was the good one of the pair. Vizy did stupid things all the time, but he had never expected her to go off like this. All because of a prolonged party, lack of sleep and no phone call. Once she had finished with them, Ayelis made a mental reminder to scold Liz and Patty the next time she saw them. She could be very intimidating when angry, and both Vizy and Lyall could vouch for that. The timid little mouse, still bites back when she's pushed too far. Though perhaps she did overreact a little bit.

The three ended up in class later that day, and Ayelis was still not happy. Considering she was doing everything she could not to fall asleep. Tsubaki had approached her earlier, trying to make sure she was all right. Ayelis had explained to her what happened, and the taller girl gave her a sympathetic look. She knew it could be aggravating, and felt the same way when Black Star did stupid things like that sometimes.

"If you need my notes for a little longer thats fine Ayelis. I know its not easy to catch up in one night." She smiled lightly, "Especially under the circumstances"

"Thank you Tsuabki. I really appreciate it."

Ayelis was trying to focus on her work, when she saw Liz, and Patty stepping through the door. Kid followed behind them, as calm as ever, but he had a slighty annoyed expression. The hairs on her neck stood out, with the sight of the girls., and she sent them both a look that could scare Lord Death himself. Liz caught the vibe, and nearly cowered behind Patty, who seemed oblivious to what was going on. Kid however, shook his head. Everyone could tell he was unamused by the situation. Ayelis could only imagine the time he would have had, cleaning up the mess from the party. She was also guessing that was the reason they were all later than the boys and herself. Her mood was slowly inproving, but it would take most of the day she figured to cool down completely.

Professor Stein simply sighed, and took attendance. It seemed like nothing surprised him. Of course when he had finished taking roll, three student were caught off guard by the additional mention of their names.

"Ayelis, Vizy, Lyall. You three, Lord Death wants to see you. The rest of the class, continue with your work." the menacing grin on his face did not do much to reassure the group.

What in the world could lord Death want them for? They hadn't done anything that Ayelis could think of to attract his attention. She thought long and hard on the way to the death room. The girl had no specific skills that were of any use to him, so what could it be? She soon got her answer though, as they knocked and were instructed to enter the room. Lord Death was waiting patiently for the three, as they approached the center of the rather large chamber.

"Hello, hello Hiya! Hows things going kids?" Ayelis never understood that goofy way he greeted people.

"Um, ok I guess. What did you want to see us for sir?"

"Ah yes, about that." he paused, and she could feel her palms sweating from aniticipation, "It seems you three are falling behind quite a bit. Am I right?" that was easy for anyone to figure out.

"Yes sir. Things are a little... difficult right now, I guess." she nodded with her response and lowered her eyes. Both Vizy and Lyall remained quiet, but nodded in agreement as well.

"Well then, I've got a few assignments for you. Some Extra lessons should be just what the three of you need." Ayelis' eyes lit up, this was what she had hoped for. The chance to catch up with everyone.

"Really? Lord Death Thank you! You won't be dissapointed I promise!"

Pleased with her reaction, Lord Death proceeded to tell them all the details of their assignments, and that a group was to accompany the trio to make sure it all went well. Ayelis could hear both of her partners groaning behind her as they were dismissed. They didn't exactly like the thought of extra work, especially Vizy. She didn't care though. This was exactly what she had been wating for. The chance to get things right, and maybe get back on track with their soul collection. Ayelis was thrilled to say the least. She silently thanked Lord Death several times, as they continued out the door.

The three returned to class, as the rest of the day seemed uneventfull. Professor Stein had gone through several things they would need to know for the next examination. For once Ayelis managed to get all of it, even the dual arts section was starting to make sense to her now, and she was beaming. Untill she remembered something Lord Death had mentioned. She would be going with a group to complete her lessons, but he never mentioned who would be accompanying them. That only left her to wonder. They were supposed to leave in the morning, and had been told the group would meet outside the front entrance of the academy. Whoever it was, Ayelis was sure things were going to go well, or at least she was hoping they would. The events of the night before were forgotten, and she had forgiven both boys. Lyall had continuously appologised through the entire day. Ayelis could uderstand, as she also hated it when someone was upset with her.

When the day ended, and the three of them headed home, Ayelis was more than releived with the outcome of events. Tsubaki and Maka had been happy for her, and she thanked them again for letting her borrow their notes. They had been concerned for her, and very encouraging. So had Liz and Patty, now that she really thought of it, despite them being part of the reason she was angry before. Ayelis doubted the girls had intended for things to go on so long, and by now she knew they were sorry. She didn't really tend to hold a grudge for something so stupid anyway. She had gotten her point across to all of them, so it was fine.

Soul and the guys had been helpful in thier own sort of way. Black star, was always telling her she had a long way to go to be as great or amazing as he was, but not to give up. Soul had said she was pretty cool herself, although Ayelis couldn't see where he came to that conclusion. Kid had always been friendly towards her. She had supposeed his comment from a while ago was something she should be proud of, according to him. Something about being more symmetrical than most of the students here at the academy. Although, she was never sure how to take that one. Ayelis dressed coordinated and tidy, nothing out of the ordinary that she could think of. The only thing that seemed to bother Kid was that she had only one side with a skull patch on her left arm. He had nearly gon out of his way to sew another one on her right, just so she'd be symmetrical. That had weirded her out a little to say the least.

Of course Vizy and Lyall had always had faith in their meister, right from the very beginning. So she had a lot more support than she even realized. Her parnters were her pillars, they held her up when she thought she would fall.

"Hey Ayelis?"

"Hmm? What is it Lyall?" she had been reading over Tsubaki's notes for an hour or so now.

"When Viz and I do become deathscyths... you're still gonna be our meister right?" that was a surprising question, comming from him.

"Of course. Why do you ask?" Lyall seemed to hesitate with his answer. "Lyall?"

"Its just... I look at Soul and Maka. They make a really good team you know?" he seemed to smile at the thought, "I just want us all to be like that. Stay a team, no matter what."

"Well don't worry all right. The three of us are always going to be a team." she smiled, reassuring him of his concerns.

Ayelis had no intention of giving them up, even if she couldn't turn them into deathscyths, she would always be there for them, and they had always made it clear they would be there for her. They were a family. Since her parents couldn't always be around, they had to stick together. Ayelis had a feeling these extra lessons were going to work out just fine, and they would soon be well on the way to achieving the goal of deathscythe.

The night went by fast, and before she knew it, Ayelis was up and preparring for their assignment. The boys were whining the entire morning. Vizy more than anyone really. She ended up giving him a smack, just to shut him up, if only for a few minutes. It was rather comical, to see him rubbing the side of his head where she'd hit him. She wasn't going to give up on this, and she was aslo eager to find out who would be in the group with them.

Ayelis had done group missions before, but the ones she ended up with, she could never work easily with. Resonating souls with them was a lot more difficult because of that, and she had always assumed it was her own fault. Ox and Kim had been paired with her once before, and she had made a mess of everything by the end of the mission. She felt awefull for it. She had always been the botch up of any other assignments with a group. Lord Death though, seemed to think that she would do better this time around.

Ayelis hurried along with her morning routine. Ever since Lyall had mentioned setting the alarm earlier, she decided to take his advice. So this morning was going well so far. The trio made their way to the academy quickly, as Ayelis was overly excited to get things in motion. She was rather surprised when they all got there. Most of the students were already inside, but she noticed the group standing at the entrance, and her excitement escalated tenfold.

"Hey! Ayelis! What took you so long?"

"Liz...Patty?"she looked confused, as she greeted the Thompsons.

"Yup yup! We're part of the group Haha!" Patty exclaimed. She seemed delighted to be there.

"Hey don't forget me you know. You'd never make it through this if the great Black Star didn't come along." Tsubaki only smiled, and waved. If they were all there, did that mean?

"What are we, chopped liver? Lets get going." the voice of the scyth caught everyones attention.

"Soul? Maka? ...This is..."

"Thats right. My father asked us to accompany you three." Kid's face was calm as always, and a small grin was present on it.

Talk about being spoiled. Ayelis began to wonder if Lord Death left something out about this mission, or was he just that worried about them? Ayelis was more than shocked with the group. They were some of the best students in the DWMA, and he wanted _them_ to help _her_? She could feel the tinge ofpink rising to her cheeks. She was flattered to have them as her group. Soul alone was a deathscyth, and practically a celebrity all over the academy. Not to mention that Death the Kid was going with them too, the son Of Lord Death. All of this replayed in her head a few times, before it actually sank in. How hard was this really going to be anyway?

"Well what are we waiting for? Lets get this party started!" Vizy was ever the impatient one.

"A..all right. I guess, lets get going." Ayelis smiled.

"Where exactly are we headed anyway?" Liz hadn't been listening, or maybe she wasn't told.

"To the North east."Ayelis answered her.

Ayelis for one was looking forward to it. She loved to travel, and she found it somewhat relaxing when she did. They were supposed to investigate something about an island where a Pirate was said to have once stashed all of his treasure, and that a witch, had been seen near the area. In any case, they were going to be busy. If there was a witch involved, it would be Ayelis' first time actually encountering one. She wasn't really sure how she felt about that. Even with the others tagging along, it was going to be quite the experience for all of them. A witch was not something to be taken lightly. Even for a three star meister, a witch was a force to be reckoned with.

Despite the fact that she was not going to be alone for this mission, Ayelis still felt the pressure of fear. Fear of failure, always seemed to accompany her, no matter the situation. She had yet to succeed on any missions, so it was no surprise that she was worried about it. Maka could sense her discomfort, and turned to place a kind hand on her shoulder.

"You'll do fine Ayelis. We're all here to help you ok? Remember that." she gave the timid girl a smile. Squeezing her shoulder in reassurance.

"Yes... Thank you Maka." doubt still traced her voice as she replied.

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><p><strong>Ah my pessimistic little Ayelis.<strong>** How those boys do torment you. **

**Leave a review if it suits you. ^_^**


	3. Zombie Pirates and Plain Rides

**And now the third chapter of my attempt at a Soul Eater story. if I didn't say it before, this takes place after Maka sucker punched the Kishin in the anime, and everyone was all happy. **

**I do not own Soul Eater.  
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><p>The trip itself was long, and Ayelis was almost ready to strangle Black star and Vizy by the time they arrived. The entire time, she heard nothing but the two of them whine and complain about how hungry they were, or how bored they were. Typical childish boys.<p>

"Yahoo!...So why are we here again?" Ayelis was sure she heard a vien pop somwhere in her head with that question. How very...irritating.

"Black Star...Haven't you been listening at all?" Tsubaki sighed. They could all tell she was already worn out by him.

"Yeah, we're here to help Ayelis. I wanna know what we're fighting though!"

"I already said, we're here to investigate the island. Supposedly there is a Pirate here thats been defending some sort of treasure, Inside a cave. That and there have been reports of a witch nearby. " Ayelis clenched her teeth as she spoke. How did he go around like this all the time? So oblivious to the task at hand.

"Oh. Awesome! So I get to beat up a pirate!"

"Riiight. Beacause beating up pirates, is ooh soo exciting." He got excited over the strangest things. Although she could say the same about Kid really. She had been present for a few of his symmetry outbreaks.

The group wasted no time in getting to the pirate's cave. To say the least, the place had a very forboding feeling comming from inside. Ayelis turned to Maka, who she knew was able to see anything going on in the interrior of the cave. The expression on her face alone, was enough to tell this was not going to be pretty. According to the scythmeister, there were hundreds of human souls inside. Vizy and Lyall were at the ready, patiently waiting for their meister to give the word, and they would transform. Liz was freaking out, hiding behind Kid , and saying something about ghosts. If this was a ghost, then it was certainly up to no good. Ayelis couldn't see souls, but she could feel the malevolence and intense hatred emmanting from within the cave.

"So what is the story behind this guy anyway?" Soul seemed interested by it at least.

"Captain Black Bartelmy. Ruthless in life, and in death. He murdered his own family and all of his men." she explained,"He came here to hide his treasure, and his soul was bound inside. Unfortunately that never stopped him from killing people who tried to explore this place. My guess would be the lure of burried treasue is what he uses to bring people to the cave, He then steals thier souls."

Soul whistled,"Sounds pretty intense."

"I would say so. It's disgusting. This place is Asymetrical garbage. That pirate I'll wager is no better." Kid was right about that much. The place was a mess. But what could you expect from a cave, and a pirate?

"Does that really matter right now? Lets just go in, get this guys soul and get out. Sounds like a plan to me." Vizy was getting fidgety. Patience was never one of his strongpoints.

The group of teens proceeded inside. There was a dim light source within, and they could only guess what it was. They were assuming it to be the light of human souls, and they had assumed correctly. Once the group reached the inner part of the cave, the entire place was littered with human souls. It made Ayelis' stomache turn to think of all these people who had died just for comming here. Everyone prepared themselves. Each of their weapons transformed, Vizy and Lyall included.

To Ayelis, the weapon forms were only natural. However for the rest of the group, this was the first time actually seeing the boys fully transformed. She stood with each hand holding one of them. The edges of their blades shining faintly from the dim light of the souls arround them, waiting to strike out. It was a little disturbing when Kid seemed to be having an episode over it. He started blabbering something along the lines of how they were perfectly symmetrical, in weapon form. Ayelis simply guessed it was similar to Liz and Patty's case.

Vizy and Lyall were identical weapons. Twin hand axes, and she was proud to be their meister. But it wasn't the boys forms that seemed to be bothering Maka. The instant Vizy and Lyall had trasformed, she could sense it. The change in Ayelis' soul wavelength, and in Ayelis herself. She stared quietly for a moment, more focused on the task at hand. Black star however, always had something obnoxious to say.

"What the heck are you guys? Those have got to be the dumbest weapons I've ever seen!" he started laughing like a fool.

"WHAT WAS THAT SHRIMP? Ain't Nothin Dumb About Us!" the taller boy flared from within his weapon form. Vizy wasn't going to put up with that comment.

"Black star! Thats not exactly nice you know!" poor Tsubaki, always answering for Black star's stupidity.

Ayelis was unamused, and her change in tone certainly helped to prove it. "They're _my_ partners. You don't like it, then go to hell." the menacing grin, and venom dripping from every word, was earning Ayelis a strange look from not just Black star.

Ayelis walked quietly, as she and the others continued deeper inside the cave. It wasn't hard to tell, Maka was focused on the goal. She had such a serious face. Ayelis had a lot less experience then the rest of the group, but that wasn't going to stop her. The sound of a deep cackling could be heard now, coming from deeper inside.

"Over there. I see him." Maka's gaze was fixed towards the back of the cave. She had spotted the soul of the Captain.

"Good... I can't wait to gut the bastard." there it was again, the poisonous tone within her voice.

The group seemed somewhat disturbed by Ayelis' sudden change, but continued with their mission. The booming voice of Captain black Bartelmy met them all head on. The sound of Kid's gunfire was the first thing, then the sound of metal clanging. Something hit, but they could barely see anything in such dim lighting. Another shot was fired, but it wasn't from Kid. The sound of it was different.

In an instant the room was lit with flames. Torches all around , now showed the enemy in perfect view. The sight of the old pirate was horrid. His skin was rotted, bones showing through his tattered clothing. Maggots fell from the openings in his flesh, and the smell was putrid enough to make anyone vomit. Kid had been right when he said the old Captain was disgusting, and it wasn't just on a symmetrical level either. Another cackle from the beastly soul was let loose.

"Sooooo! Who is it this time, after me treasure? Who comes to give me yer souls?" one eyeball peered at the group from under a heavy cloth hat.

"Captain Black Bartelmy! I hope you're ready to DIE!" the grin on her face widened, as Ayelis stood poised and ready to kill. "I'm here to claim your rotten soul!" the tone in her voice was something none of them had heard before. At least not coming from her anyway.

"HAH! Not likely little missy! I give my soul to nobody! Especially not the likes of a bratty twig such as you!"

Ayelis seemed enraged by the insult thrown at her. He fired several shots at all of them, aiming more for her than the others, only because of what she had said to him. A wicked sneer made itself present on her face, as she blocked the bullets using Vizy and Lyall. She was watching, looking for some weak point to hit him. It was a good thing the others were with her, as it made it easier to find an opening for attack. Although the ease of the fight soon left, as three other disgusting gouls made an appearance.

Out of nowhere, the grotesque, pirate looking things attacked, giving them little time to react. All the group could do for the moment was block. Maka had tried her witch hunter twice, but they had regenerated the second the blade left their flesh. Black star seemed to be doing better. His big wave attack was enough to stun the ugly things long enough for the teens to regroup. How helpful that was going to be none of them were really sure of. What frightened them more was seeing that Ayelis didn't really seem to care either.

"This isn't working!" Maka, was panting heavily now.

"No, really? I thought we were doing just FINE!" Soul yelled. Maka didn't appreciate his sarcasm.

"Then lets try something else! I'll rip him appart yet!" Ayelis looked around, trying to find something that would be of use.

"Look there!"

She glanced towards where Kid had pointed, and her eyes lit up with an idea. The Captain was hovering over a treasure chest, not budging from his perch over it the entire fight. Could he have been protecting it for another reason? Kid had sensed something odd about it from the beggining. There were souls inside of it. There was no time to ask questions though, and Ayelis was already decided on what to do.

"Right, I can draw their fire. Maka, you, Kid,and Black star, go for the tresure chest!"

"Ayelis, you'll have to take the final shot on him though." Maka reminded her, but was still worrying about the strange aura being let off from her friend.

"Then try to leave me an opening dammit! Now come on!"

"I don't know what you kiddies are yammerin on about, but it wont do you no good!" the Captain unloaded another round of fire at them all, as his goons attacked.

The plan of attack was simple, and as Ayelis took most of the fire from the four zombies, Maka and the others went in. Kid firing at each of the gouls, pushing them back. A slash from Soul, and the Captain was forced away from the chest. One more big wave from Black star, and that stunned him again. Long enough to give the opening needed to finish the job.

"Ayelis! Go Now!" Maka shouted, nearly out of breath.

"All right then. Ready boys?"

"You got it Ayelis!" Vizy answered her, but Lyall remained quiet.

"Lets go Soul Resonance!"

Maka realised they must have done soul resonance before, but as she watched, it bothered her to see Ayelis so driven, when moments before she had been so calm and collected. It was like an entirely different person altogether. She watched as Ayelis dove for the disgusting heap of flesh that was the Captain, hoping that their gamble had been worth the risk. Whether it was or not, the bastard didn't have a prayer. The length and size of both axes grew, and their meister still handled them with ease. Spinning them rhythmically in her hands, as she herself moved with a strange gracefullness.

"Nightmare Waltz!" Ayelis could hear her own pulse beating, as blades of deep violet energy, spewed forth from her weapons as she moved. Tearing at the floating corpse in front of them.

"What is this? NO! Damn you brats! Not the treasure!"

Those were the last words heard from Captain Black Bartelmy. In a few seconds, the three other creatures dissapeared. Their bodies dicintegrated into the air, and as they did, the treasure chest was split in half. The souls of all four exposed. Ayelis heard the sighs of everyone, as they all relaxed a bit. Though inside this cave, it was hard to do just that. Vizy and Lyall reverted back to their human forms. A worried expression dawned on Lyall's face.

"Good job Ayelis!" she heard Tsubaki call.

"Yeah, nice work. That was pretty cool." Soul had also returned to his human state.

"My... my first souls captured."She was a little in shock over it all, "We did it."

"AWESOME! Two for each of us! right bro?" Vizy was exstatic, as Lyall nodded his head in response, replacing the worried look with a smile. He always seemed to look that way after the three had just been in a fight.

"I have you guys all to thank. We couldn't have pulled this off without you." Ayelis smiled wide, as she looked at all of them. So this was what it was like, to be part of a team.

"Lets not stay here ok guys? This place still creeps me out!" Liz was still scared out of her mind.

"Hold on, the rest of the human souls here, I'll have to take them back to my father for safeguarding." Ayelis kept forgetting Kid was a grim reaper too. This had probably been so easy for him. Her spirit dampened a little to think of how weak she was compaired to everyone else.

Once Kid gathered all the disembodies souls, the group was ready to leave the cave. With Patty giggling away, and Black star raging about his spotlight being stolen. They decided it was best to head back to the DWMA. Lord Death would be eager to hear their report anyway, and Ayelis was itching to tell him all about it. Perhaps now she could finally start to catch up to everyone else. They were off to a good start anyway, and she intended to keep it up.

It was going to be a long trip home, but at least this time Black star and Vizy were fast asleep for most of it. Ayelis found the flight home relaxing, after what they all just went through. She was sure for Maka and the others this had been nothing. After all they had survived fighting the kishin Ashura. In spite of that, she was still glad to have them with her.

The plain was small, and it was two seats to a row. Which didn't bother her really. Poor Lyall though, he hated flying, and with his brother next to him drooling and snorring in the seat behind her. It really didn't make it easier for him. Ayelis felt bad, but there wasn't much she could do. The plain was full capacity, and personally she didn't feel like sitting next to Visy either. Liz had noticed his discomfort though, and took the opportunity to help him out.

"Hey Lyall, I'll sit there instead if you want. Patty doesn't mind, and I'd love a chance to pester him anyway." a suspicious grin snaked its way accross her mouth. Although Ayelis seemed to think Vizy waking up to see Liz beside him, would probably make his day, Liz seemed to have other intentions.

"Thanks Liz. I'll take you up on that offer."

The two of them switched seats, and that made the trip just a little more enjoyable for Lyall. Ayelis was content in any case. Travelling never bothered her, especially not when she had the window seat. Watching the sky was almost mezmorizing, even at night. The stars were all over, and you could see whisps of clouds passing by underneath the wings of the plain. Watching the light from the moon reflecting off the fluffy white surfaces, was nothing short of beautiful. It was a mystical scene to behold indeed. She was nearly drifting off to sleep herself, untill the voice beside her, stirred Ayelis from her daze.

"Hmm? Sorry, I was dozing a little." she rubbed her eyes, along with her response.

"Its alright. I asked if you enjoyed flying, thats all." Kid repeated his question,"You seemed so entranced in the view outside."

"Oh? Well I suppose... I do enjoy the view." she turned again to look out the window. She did enjoy it.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, since she was awake again to continue watching the clouds fly by. Occasionally Someone would start to talk about this or that, but most of it Ayelis drowned out unless it was directed at her. Liz had asked her a few things, which she thought were interesting. She inquired about Vizy quite a bit it seemed, though whether or not it was to bother him later, or simply get to know him, Ayelis had no idea. She answered as best she could, but told Liz it was probably a better idea to simply ask him. She was no mind reader, so she couldn't speak for him. Once Liz had settled back down, Ayelis thought the rest of the flight would be quiet. She was surprised though, with the next conversation.

"Your soul resonance...It was interesting."

"I'm...sorry?" Kid wasn't looking at her, but he still carried on.

"It was interesting to watch. Like a dance, each step, each movement was in perfect sync." He had watched the whole thing? That was a little unsettling. She thought he was still fighting along with the rest of them.

'Um... you...think so huh?" she had never gotten a comment like that about her tecnique."I've never really considered it that way, but it is a sort of dance, yes."

"Your movements were actually rather inspiring. I didn't see a single flaw, that takes practice." Ayelis suddenly saw where the conversation was going. "It was perfectly symmetrical. An absolutely beautiful display of symmetry!"

There were the infamous words, of Death the Kid. "Right, well... Thank you. I guess." the look on his face when he said it, was what creeped her out. She should take it as a complement comming from him, but she wasn't exactly sure.

Ayelis squirmed closer to the window, wondering if she should make the excuse to go to the bathroom and stay there. Considering though, that bathrooms on plains were rather cramped and not easy to move around in anyway. She decided to simply sit quietly untill they reached home. She would be able to breath easy there at least, and she was actually starting to think she would have been better off sitting next to Vizy after all.

Ayelis looked back at Liz, who for some reason, was giving her an amused face. Like she was expecting something else to happen while Kid was taking a spazz over his obsession again. Ayelis was grateful He had refrained from doing this during the fight. That would have made things significantly more difficult, and the lot of them might still be stuck in that cave.

She had done what she needed to for this lesson, but something still felt off. Ayelis wondered if that was part of Lord Death's intentions to begin with? It certainly seemed to work if that was the case. Whatever the reason, her head was starting to hurt though, with all this contemplating over simple things. She couldn't wait to get back on the ground, and home to their appartment. She was looking forward to a nice hot bath, before they headed out again on their next mission. What bothered her the most though, was that they had found no trace of a witch. There were no signs at all, even if she was using soul protect, there should have been something. Right now though, Ayelis didn't think she could handle a witch on her own. She still needed a lot of work, before she could manage that sort of fight.

They arrived home at last, and all in one piece. Ayelis may enjoy flying, but she would prefer the trip itself to be shorter. Sitting on her butt for about seven hours, did tend to make a person stiff. She would have to wait for that bath though, since Lord Death was wating for their report in the death room. She still had an aching feeling that they had missed something back on the island, but she guessed it couldn't be helped at this point. The initial objective was to stop the pirate zombies, and collect their souls, and they had done that.

The group all made their way to the Death room, and Ayelis could tell something was troubling Maka. She wondered if Maka felt the same as she did about the mission. She'd be able to tell better than Ayelis ever could, since she didn't have the same ability. She decided to ask her about it later though. Ayelis imagined she had already said something to Soul about it, and for now it could wait.

"Heya Hiya! Hows it going students?" Lord death always seemed too cheery, "I heard the mission was a success."

"Yes sir. I was able to claim my first few souls. But..."

"But what Ayelis? Did something happen?" he tilted his head curiously.

"Well, we found no trace of a witch. Although several people had claimed there was signs of one in the area, there was nothing we found in the cave." her palms were sweating. "Shouldn't we have at least found something?"

"A witch has many ways of concealing herself other than using soul protect. I'm not entirely surprised that you didn't find anything." he pressed his hand to his chin in thought. "Still we should take extra precautions for the next time."

"Yes sir. But I'm still worried about that witch."

"Lord Death, I have to agree with Ayelis. Something didn't feel quite right when we left." she had a feeling Maka would voice her own opinion. It was the same as her own.

"Hmm, well I suppose I could send you back to investigate more thoroughly." Ayelis watched as Lord Death tapped his fingers thoughtfully,"All right then, you kids can check it out for me. If you find anything suspicious report back to me right away."

"MAKA! Papa's so proud of you! Helping out your friends." they were all startled by Spirits' intrusion. Ayelis more than anyone else really. Maka was only aggrivated by it.

It was amusing to see, Maka's father trying so hard to earn points with her. She always ignorred him though. Ayelis had to admitt she wasn't so fond of Spirit, but she did feel a little sorry for him. It would be hard to watch your only daughter grow up right in front of you, but not even be accknowledged by her. Although Ayelis was relieved they were going back to make sure of things, a few of the others had expressed that they weren't happy with the decision.

"You're not serious are you? We're not going back there!" Liz whined."That place is so creepy!"

"We have to figure out whats going on. Both Ayelis and I could tell something was off. "

"Maka's right you guys. It needs to be looked into." she wasn't going to chicken out, that was for sure.

"Oh, that reminds me. Dad, these are the human souls we found. It seems the Captian, had more than one motive for gathering them."

"Hmm? My my, there are quite a few of them. Thank you son. Always a job well done." Lord Death gave Kid a pat on the head. He seemed to treat him like a child far too often. Ayelis could tell Kid didn't appreciate it much. Maybe he had a lot to learn yes, but still.

"Well, why don't you kids take a day to recover? I understand travelling for so long can be tiresome, so you don't need to head back right away." she could almost hear the smile in Lord Death's tone. He was strange for a grim reaper, but you knew he cared.

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><p><strong>I don't know about anyone else, but somehow a bouncing happy grim reaper really does bring a smile to my face. <strong>

**And spirit makes a small appearance, yet again pissing off his daughter.**

**Review if it suits you. ^_^  
><strong>


	4. Feathers Fly and a New House Guest

**Okay, so now begins the fourth chapter of my crazy story. I'm quite pleased with how its going so far. I'm actually having a lot of fun with this. **

**Once again I do not own Soul Eater  
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><p>Within the depths of a frozen wasteland, a stone ruin, centuries old, stood. Almost no life travelled the dark hallways. Though in the center of the ruin, a shadowed figure sat patiently. Waiting for the answers he so feverishly wished to hear.<p>

"So...Arachnophobia is no more."

"Yes my lord. The Heretic witch is dead. As is Ashura." a womans voice, answered her master's inquirey.

"Hmm, so then... we'll need a new source of madness within the world. A new Kishin... yeeesssss."

The shadowed man seemed only too pleased by the news. He had waited in darkness for over eight hundred years. Instead of fighting the witch Arachne for dominance though, he had preferred to watch, and wait out her death. It had no doubt been her own fault she had failed. Trying to controll a kishin, that was foolish. There was only one way to acheive true insanity.

"Well then, my dearest Lydia." he grinned with wicked intent, "We shall make our first move." Extending a long arm before himself, the man's face grew into a malicious smile, "Go my pets! Be my eyes and ears over the land!"

As soon as the words were spoken, hundreds of black ravens flew from the shadows, and into the night sky. Heading in every direction possible. Lydia watched them, as she cowered in fear of the man she called master. Born as a witch, she feared only the DWMA and lord Death. Although now, she learned to fear this man as well.

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><p>Maka sat quietly, reading her book as the others were enjoying another game of basketball. She was grateful she didn't have to participate this time, thanks to Vizy. She watched as the group of friends began their game, and laughed heartilly. Lyall had sat on the sidelines with his meister. Quietly thinking to himself about the events back in the pirates cave. He was aware of the change Ayelis always seemed to go through, whenever the three of them fought together. It bothered him every time, to watch his meister turn into someone so violent. He only wished he knew why the change took place. Ayelis noticed his silence, and stopped her observation of the others to talk to him.<p>

"Lyall? Something wrong?" her eyes were curious, as she watched him.

"I was just thinking is all. I'm fine, really." he smiled back at her.

"...Okay. You just seemed...worried about something." she faced the court again, resuming her servailence of the others as Vizy argued over a foul with Black star.

Lyall sighed, and glanced towards Maka on the other bench. She had been watching them quietly. As her gaze met Lyall's she gave him a nodd, acknowledging the worrysome look he had in regards to his meister. Maka could sense the disturbance in Ayelis' soul, and it had left her concerned as well. She had been surprised that no one else seemed to notice it as much, or maybe they just hadn't said anything about it. Even Kid hadn't been aware of it completely, and if Vizy was, he certainly didn't let on about it.

Maka was stewing deep in her thoughts. So much so that she failed to notice the large orange ball, heading in her direction.

"MAKA! Look Out!" Soul yelled, but it was too late.

The basketball had made a direct hit. There sat Maka, her book on the ground, and her face nearly flattened. Ayelis and Lyall both cringed, at the look on Maka's face. Someone was going to get hurt for this one. Soul had a bad feeling that it was going to be him.

"Aw crap. The bookworm is pissed." Vizy only seemed half concerned, but he received a menacing glare from Maka. Which effectively shut him up.

"Who...threw...it?"

The entire group pointed at Soul, and backed away from the raging beast that was once their friend Maka. How many times she hit him with that book, none of them could really keep track of. Once she calmed down though, all of them had to laugh about it. Ayelis couldn't beleive, that just days before, she was a nobody. In a school for people with extraordinary abilities, she had felt out of place for so long. Now here she was, having fun with her friends. It had taken her this long just to figure it all out. She was a meister, and she also had her own abilities to contribute. She smiled wide, as the others all opted to go for ice cream. It was their time off. Lord Death had told them all to take it easy for a day, before sending them out again on their mission. They were just teenagers after all.

"So who's buying?" Black star asked in his usual blunt manner.

"Well, Kid's team lost two out of three, soooo." Vizy gave a wicked grinn towards Kid.

"As long as you leave my paintings alone! I don't care!" Kid nearly had a heart attack from their threats earlier.

"Relax dude. We won't touch em. But Ice creams on you and I want a huge sunday!" Vizy grinned.

"I'll be getting an even bigger one!" Black star boasted his status even through the size of a sunday.

Ayelis laughed at her friends. Things always seemed so bleak before now. She was enjoying the company. It was like a whole other part of her was being let out whenever the others were around. She had no idea, how right she was. Lyall and Maka only hoped, they could figure out the problem, before things got out of hand.

lord Death had told both him and Maka, that he knew about Ayelis's irregular soul wavelengths. He had asked Maka to keep a close eye on her, and for Lyall to do his best to surpress her if the need arose. Vizy was present, but never said a word. He only nodded in agreement, like he couldn't bare to hear such horrible news about his miester. He wasn't as smart as his brother, but he certainly understood everything they had discussed.

The group of students returned to Maka's appartment for drinks and snacks. Blair had been busy all day trying to prepare everything for them all. She had wanted to help them relax a bit, so the frisky feline took it upon herself to whip up a few things. She was alwasy dressed in such skimpy clothing though, it was hard for Vizy and Soul to hold in the torrential nosebleeds that threatened to pour out at any moment. Kid and Lyall were visibly disturbed with red faces, and of course it didn't seem like Black star really cared. Maka however, was ready to kill the cat.

"Blair, would it be too much to ask that you put some cloths on!" the pigtailed girl fumed.

"I have cloths on Maka." Blair only smiled.

"You know what I mean!"

"Maka, relax, she's not hurting anyone really." Ayelis tried to calm the girl down.

"It really makes me wonder sometimes. How much you boys can handle, hey Patty?"Liz looked over at her younger sister.

"Hahaha! They're all bloody!"

Liz chose to ignore her sister, as usual. It was fairly obvious the amount of maturity the boys had, and for at least a couple of them that wasn't much. At a certain point though, that tends to go out the window. Ayelis sighed heavily. At least only one of her partners was really a pervert. Although the ammount of times they had each walked in on her in the shower, made her question that. Living with two boys could be a real pain in the ass sometimes.

"You men... I'll never understand."Maka huffed.

"Trust me Maka, I know how you feel there." Ayelis had an unamused look, as she watched Patty poke at Vizy lying on the floor.

Their day of rest passed quickly, and before long the sun had come up. It was time for the group to head out again. This time conducting a thorough investigation of the cave, and the area surrounding it. If there was a witch involved, they would have to uncover something. The town near the cave had been a little useful. Lots of people had mentioned seeing a suspicious woman around town and the cave, but no other details could be found. The group walked through town, hoping that they would find a lead of any kind. Instead, they soon uncovered an interesting fact about one of their members.

"Hey guys look there!" Maka pointed to a shop on the corner. With a tasty looking display in the window.

"Wow, its a chocolate shop." Liz seemed intrigued by the thought of a quick snack.

"...chocolate...shop?"

Ayelis' voice was low, and her face unreable at first. At the mention of chocolate though, she gained a hungry and excited look. Almost as if possessed by the need of a sweet treat. Lyall slapped a hand to his forhead, knowing exactly what was about to happen, and Vizy seemed interested to watch it.

"Umm, Ayelis? Are you all right?" Maka only watched her, stepping slowly away from the crazed looking girl.

"This happens every time." Lyall stated.

"What does? Is she going to be okay?" Tsubaki was worried.

"She'll be fine, but she may get sick by the end of it." Vizy answered, scatching the back of his neck.

Maka was about to ask what he meant, but she was cut off. Ayelis burst out into a run, headed strait for the chocolate shop. She was laughing like a child, as she ran through the door of the shop. Ayelis stared longingly at all the sweets displayed in front of her, practically drooling at the sight. The others all caught up with her, wondering what had gotten into their companion. Lyall had to explain, when they were speachless from the image before them.

"Like I said, this happens every time she's around chocolate." he shook his head sighing.

"She's got one hell of a sweet tooth, is what he's trying to say." Vizy made the explanation clear.

"You're kidding right? She freaks out over candy?" Soul looked like he would burst out laughing at any moment.

"Not candy, just chocolate. Cakes, pudding, bars. As long as it's chocolate, she goes gaga." Lyall corrected.

The entire group nearly lost themselves in laughter, as Ayelis continued to swoon over all the different types of chocolate treats. Lyall and Vizy had to purchase a few things in order for them to even budge their meister from the display case. Pretty soon the group was outside again, and Ayelis was enjoying her treats. Blissfully unaware of her surroundings for the moment. Liz was highly amused by the comical scene. It reminded her of what she and Patty often went through. Although this was much milder and easier to deal with. The search for the witch continued, as they all made their way through town, and back towards the cave.

Inside, there was still an eeri feeling cast through the place. Any evidence of their previous visit was already gone. Which in itself was strange. It was like someone had cleaned it all up, there wasn't a trace of any battle with the zombie captain.

"Wow, this is so strange." Maka looked around curiously.

"It's like nothing was ever here to begin with." Tsubaki walked causiously.

"It would take more than two days to clean up the mess that disgusting creature left behind here. Something seems off."

Kid scanned the cave carefully, looking for anything that might give them a clue as to what had happened after they left. He found nothing though, and as the others searched, they too came up with nothing.

"Whoever did it, did a pretty damn good job of hiding it." Vizy stood with his arms crossed. Even he was annoyed by the situation.

"What do you propose we do now? There aren't any other leads we can go by at this point." Ayelis was somewhat dissapointed. She had hoped they would uncover some kind of hint about the witch. Instead they found nothing. Leaving both her and Maka with an unsettling feeling.

They had no other choice but to return to Death City. Their search had been inconclusive at best. Which meant they still needed to find out about the witch. This was probably not the only place she would show up at, so they would have to watch their step from here on, if she knew they were on her case.

As the others all walked ahead, Ayelis remained closest to the back of the group. Her eyes directed firmly towards the ground as she walked. Lord Death had another mission for them to start whenever they got back, but she felt a pang of guilt for not being able to complete this task. Liz looked back at her, slowing her pace to match the smaller girl. Sure she had been scared out of her witts to come back here, but it was Ayelis that was under a lot of pressure.

"Hey... you gonna be all right?" Liz matched her steps with Ayelis. both of them tagginng slightly behind the rest.

"Yes. It wasn't like we needed to actually find the witch this time." she frowned," But still. I wish we could have found something."

"Cheer up Ayelis. Things could be worse you know." Liz smiled, then cringed with her next thought, "There could have been more of those zombie pirates hanging around."

"Liz is right you know. We could've had a lot worse things happen." Lyall stood waiting for the two girls to catch up. Behind him were Vizy, Kid and Patty who seemed happily entertained by two pitch black feathers she had found.

"Maybe we should follow her example? Patty never seems to let things get her down, you know?" Liz smiled at her younger sister, who was pretending now, that the feathers were wings.

"YAHOOO! Come on you slowpokes!" Black star interupted their peaceful discussion, "Yeah I'm the first one back to town! ME BLACK STAR!"

"Were we really competeing?" Ayelis wasn't sure.

"No. Thats just his moronic way doing things." Kid glared at his obnoxious team mate, "Come on, lets just get going. I'm sure my father will be glad to hear from us. Regardless the outcome of this trip."

"Great. Back on that tin can they call a plain." Vizy rolled his eyes, "Dammit! My ass is sore from sitting still for fourteen friggin hours already!"

"It'll be sore for another reason if you don't move it!" Liz snapped at him. All she really wanted to do right now was go home. This entire cave mission had her losing her mind and her skin crawling.

Another seven hours later, and the students were back in Death City again. Ayelis felt defeated in a way. The first half of her assignment she passed, but this half she couldn't find anything that they had been looking for. When Lord Death explained that he hadn't intended for them to necessarily bring anything back, she seemed a little better.

"It was enough evidence to find the whole place wiped clean. I find it more suspicious than if everything were still there, and still you found nothing." the reaper tilted his head, "You came back with the proof we needed. Something definitely occured there."

"I suppose that does make sense."Ayelis stared thougtfully into nothing. Trying to process what he had just told her.

"In any case, you kids did a fine job. I'll allow all of you a days grace period before resuming classes." Lord Death pointed towards the door,"Now then, dismissed."

The grim Reaper knew very well that they were exsausted. He had more assignments for the group, but they could wait for a couple days. At least he hoped they could. One case was beginning to worry him quite a bit. He had sent Sid in on reconnisance, and the report he recieved from the Zombie teacher hadn't been a pleseant one. A cannibalistic tribe, up in the mountains, had given birth to something most people only heard stories about. It had to be stopped, and soon.

It was dark out, and the others had all retreated to their homes. Ayelis walked slowly behind her weapons, still concerned with what they had discovered. Someone was trying to cover something up, and it was painfully obvious that it would be relevent to their next Lessons. She only hoped that the next one would uncover something more about it all. She sighed, as she walked starring blankly ahead of herself in thought. Apparently she didn't think paying attention to where she was going, was really that important. The two had stopped just ahead of her, and both her weapons watched as she passed them by. Lyall trying desperately to warn her, but Vizy held his mouth shut, snickering. Ayelis heard the noise, and turned her head just in time to catch a glimps of her weapons struggling with one another.

"What is so fu...AaaaaaaaCK!" was the verbal shock they heard from their meister.

She didn't have time to recover, as she had zoned out while walking. A pure white cat had been lying in her way, and of course she failed to notice it. A loud hiss was heard from the feline as she stepped on the poor creature's tail. As if this wasn't bad enough, she lost her balance. Tripping on the edge of the sidewalk, and falling face first into the cobblestone beneath her. Vizy was in hysterics, as he watched the whole event. His brother however, was a little more restrained with his snickers. Lyall felt bad, but it was rather humerous.

The cat had barely dodged the falling form, but it didn't flee from the scene. It simply watched in amusement, as Ayelis crashed to the ground. The girl lifted her face from the stone, finding herself starring into the feline's pale blue orbs. It blinked twice, then meowed happily, as if it was glad for some odd reason.

"Hey, I think the furball likes you Ayelis." Vizy commented on the animal's behavior,"I don't see why though. You just tramped on it's tail."

"Vizy come on. Leave her alone will you?" Lyall had moved to help his meister up. She winced only a little, as it was more her pride that was hurt.

"I'm okay, really. Just a scratch." she smiled weakly.

The cat had now started rubbing against her leg, purring loudly as it was begging for attention. Ayelis couldn't exactly refuse, since it had been her fault for the little incident to begin with. So she bent down to scratch behind the feline's ears. It purred even louder in delight, nudging her hand and looking up at her. She couldn't help but let out an 'awww' at the little fluffball.

"I think we're stuck with it." Vizy's expression was flat. He didn't hate cats, but he wasn't that fond of them either.

"Well if Ayelis wants it then why not?" Lyall only shrugged. It didn't bother him, but knowing it annoyed his brother was enough for him to agree to taking the white ball of fur in.

Ayelis had already decided she would bring the cat home. It seemed to like her, and she quickly developed an affection for it. She picked the up the little purring creature and instantly it curled into her bosom. Nudging a snuggling into her chest, as she carried it with them back to their appartment. Vizy was protesting the entire way home, and Lyall simply smirked with contentment. Any time he got the upper hand on his brother, he enjoyed it.

When the group finally arrived back home though, they were in for a surprise. Not long after they had gotten in the door, Ayelis set the cat down to let it explore. It sat down in front of her, almost looking like it had a huge grin on it's face. Vizy eyed the little furball suspiciously, feeling that something wasn't quite right about it. There was a glint of mischeif in the feline's eyes, and both boys seemed to notice it. Lyall was starting to think that maybe taking in the cat, wasn't such a good idea.

"Whats wrong with you two?" Ayelis wasn't exactly sure what was taking place.

"I think we should get rid of it." Vizy answered coldly. "I don't trust the damn thing."

"Oh for the love of... Vizy it's a cat for crying out loud!"

As soon as her outburst came from her lips, the cat showed a toothy grin and all three humans were blinded by a puff of light blue smoke. Waving the smoke away, and coughing a few times, Vizy was the first to recover. What he saw made him regret letting Ayelis bring the furball back with them, very...much.

Standing in the place where the cat had been, was now a tall young man. Dressed in a sharp black shirt, and white pants. Cat-like ears poked out from his head, as two pale blue eyes stared out from under pure white locks. Ayelis finally stopped coughing long enough to see what was going on, and she deadpanned. Was this the little white feline that had been in her arms not moments before?

"Uh...What just happened?" she was starting to think maybe she should have listened to Vizy.

"Dammit! I told you that cat wasn't right!" said weapon now continued to argue his point, "He's no cat at all! Friggin Perv!"

"Please don't be angry. Allow me to introduce myself." the smooth voice came as a surprise to the trio. "My name is Loup, and I am truly grateful for you having allowed me into your home mistress."

"Mistress? What in the world?" Lyall was just as dumbfounded as his meister, but was quick to get defensive when he saw what came next.

Loup took Ayelis's hand, bringing it to his lips in a gentlemanly fashion. The girl's face turned a shade of crimson that put roses to shame. She was embarrassed for several reasons. One, she had never been treated like that in her life. Two, obviously the cat was male, and had magic of his own, and three. She had just carried him home in her arms as he had been snuggled against her breasts the entire time. This was quite the shocker for the axe trio. Ayelis had proceeded to fall unconscious on the floor. Lyall went to her side to see if she was all right, while Vizy had started shouting profanities like there was no tomorrow at their new house guest.

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><p><strong>Haha! And another chapter done. I love messing with my little Ayelis. Loups first appearance ^_^ Slick little kitty isn't he?<strong>

**Reviews will bring me inspiration! Please leave one .**


	5. The Cat's Meow, A Picknick in the Park

**Sigh, still no reviews. But I still feel like writing, so bleh. **

**I do not own Soul Eater  
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><p>Ayelis woke up with one hell of a headache. She found herself in her night cloths, tucked under the covers of her warm bed, with her hair down. Her memory was a little foggy, but she remembered everything the day before, right up until they found that stray cat and then...<p>

"Oh...dear...god." her eyes were nearly popping out of her head, as the memory of seeing the little white cat, turn into a handsome young man returned to her completely.

Throwing off the covers, she scrambled hastily to her feet. She made a mad dash for the bathroom, feeling almost sick to her stomache. She had realized, when she fainted the night before, she still was fully clothed. Since Vizy and Lyall would have probably just put her to bed in her cloths. The only logical thing to asume, was that their newest member of the house had done it himself. That meant he probably saw her naked. Her face paled, and she let out a scream that could wake the entire neighborhood. Hearing the shrill sound echo through the appartment, Vizy and Lyall were now awake.

"Damn, that girl can be friggin loud."Vizy rubbed his eyes, "What the hell is she freaking out for anyway?"

"Beats me. I just woke up like you." Lyall stretched, then shrugged. apparently niether of them knew what had taken place. Or they just weren't awake enough yet to realize it.

Both boys slowly made their way from their beds to the living room, where they decided to wait for their meister. When the girl finally joined them, she looked as though she were ready to pass back out.

"Um...do I even wanna ask?" he cringed, already knowing the answer.

"Where is he?" It took a moment, but both boys finally registered who she was talking about.

"You mean Loup? That crazy cat's around here somewhere."Lyall replied.

"Damn cat! Just who does he think he is anyway? He can't come barging in here like that, thinkin he's gonna stay here for good! Friggin pervert!"

Vizy's left side was twitching in irritation. He didn't like Loup at all, and he wasn't planning on hiding that fact. Ayelis only sighed, calming down a bit from her little moment of disturbance. If she told them what had happened, both of them would probably react worse than her. She decided against it, and started towards the kitchen. She took notice of the smells coming from within, and was greeted with the surprise of breakfast on the table. Loup stood next to the stove, finishing up with cooking bacon, eggs and a pancake for each. When he heard her enter, the white cat smiled wide.

"What...what is all this?" Ayelis simply stared at the display in front of her.

"Ah good morning mistress! I hope you're hungry." his blue eyes gestured to the food. "I made plently for everyone."

"Ah yeah... could you stop with the mistress thing? It's sort of... strange."Ayelis wasn't fond of the term he had used. She was nobody's, mistress.

Putting aside what he had done the previous night Ayelis took a seat at the table. She thanked him none the less for taking the time to cook their breakfast. As the smell of food finally reached the two boys sitting in the living room, both poked their heads in to see what was going on. When they saw who it was though, Vizy scowled at the feline. Lyall was simply grateful he didn't have to cook. He didn't feel like arguing first thing in the morning anyway. Once Loup had finished with their food, he cooked himslf a couple of fish to enjoy, and sat down with them.

"So whats the plan for today anyway? Lord Death gave us a day off before we get back to our missions." Lyall asked, swallowing a mouth full of his meal, then turning to the cook. 'Hey Loup, this is actually pretty good. Thanks." the cat grinned, giving a thankful nod at the compliment. Vizy however, remained silent, glarring daggers across the table as he slowly ate his own breakfast.

"I'm not really sure. I thought it would be nice just to relax a little." she rested her head on her palm, as she poked at her plate. For some reason she wasn't all that hungry.

"I say we get the hell out of this house for the day. You know, hang out with everyone or something." Vizy continued to scowl, as he made his opinion known. If that cat was here then he didn't want to be.

"Sounds ok I guess. I'll give Maka and the others a call and see what they're up to." she brushed a stray hair that had fallen, out of her face.

Ayelis set her fork down, excusing herself from the table. She headed up stairs to her room to get dressed for the day, long ashen locks flowing behind her as she walked. Loup had watched her go, and couldn't help the affectionate smile that graced his features.

"What the hell are you starring at?" Vizy was not going to let him off the hook at all.

"She should leave her hair down more often, don't you think?" Loup turned towards the other two males in the room. Waiting for a response.

'Wha?" Vizy stared stupidly. He wasn't expecting that one.

"Beleive me, we've tried telling her that." Lyall looked down at his now empty plate, 'She just doesn't seem to get it."

Loup watched the younger boy for a moment, giving a knowing sort of nod before getting up and clearing the table. He was happy to have stumbled on these three. It would be interesting to see just what was to come if he stayed here. One brother hated him, the other seemed a little more accepting. The girl was a mystery though. An enigma to the untrained eye, and he was curious to find out more about his new living companions.

Maka and Soul had made it through their own breakfast, and currently the pigtailed young lady was reading a book on the sofa. Soul had been washing the dishes, when the phone rang. He quickly dried his hands before picking up the receiver.

"Hello?" he paused, a slight grin appearing on his face as he heard the voice on the other side.

"Hello Soul. The boy's and I were wondering what you and Maka had planned for the day."

"Ayelis hey. We weren't really doing much. Why?"

"Just thinking we could all get together for the day. With everyone really."

"Sounds cool. I'll let Maka know. I'm sure she'll be up for it."

"All right then, hows noon at the park sound? I'll call the others and see what they're up to. Bye now."

With that, he heard the click as she hung up. Soul put the receiver back, and headed to the living room where Maka was waiting. She had heard him talking, and was wondering who it was he had spoken to.

"Hey, feel like going out today?" he inquired, as his meister looked at him with a curious expression.

"I guess so. Who was that you were talking to anyway?"

"Ayelis. She said to meet her around lunch time at the park."

Maka smiled. She was enjoying her book, but she didn't mind hanging out with her friends. Since they had the day off before their next assignment, it would be nice to relax at the park for a bit with everyone. Hopping up from her seat, she gave a swift nod, before heading to her room to get ready for the day. Soul just laughed at her, shaking his head. As long as it wasn't sports, Maka would agree to just about anything if it meant spending time with friends. He finished up with the dishes, before heading to his own room and getting set for the day.

Black Star and Tsubaki received their own call, and soon after that so did Kid and the girls. Everyone had agreed to a day out together, and Ayelis was quite excited. She figured a picknick would be a great way to spend the day, and was already preparing snacks and lunches for everyone. Lyall had popped his head in to see how she was fairing with everything, smiling as he saw the individual lunches made for everybody.

"Wow, you really did a number on this. Why so much?" he came to stand next to her as he looked over all the food.

'I just thought it would be nice. Them helping us out and all." she smiled as she started packing the luches she had made.

"Such a thoughtful young woman Miss Ayelis is." both of them turned to find Loup leaning in the doorway. A smug and content grin slapped across his face.

"Oh, thank you again for this morning Loup. I'm sorry I didn't eat much." She gave him a sheepish smile.

"Its fine. I did it as a thank you. To my lovely mistress who rescued me from the streets. I am in your debt." he came to stand in front of her, bowing and kissing her hand once again. Lyall stared blankly at the cat. Wonderind if he should be angry or not.

"Hey! I said enough with the mistress title already. It's just Ayelis, please." her face red, as she pulled her hand out of his grasp. "And didn't I step on your tail? I thought that would make you angry."

"Forgiveness is something to be treasured. You gave me a home, and I am forever grateful."

He gave her a toothy smile, then turned and left both teens stunned. Ayelis was still flushed in the face, but she recovered quickly enough. It would take some getting used to, having Loup around. If he kept treating her like this, she'd feel like she was spoiled. Lyall only shook his head, smiling at his meister. He knew very well that she'd never been involved with anyone before. Not that he'd let her get involved with that flirt of a feline anyway, but he found it amusing how she responded to the little gestures.

Vizy was waiting for them at the front door, tapping his foot impatiently. He wanted out of the house and away from the creepy white cat. He didn't care what anyone said, Loup had made his tolerance of cats drop considerably. Not to mention said cat was a serious pain in his ass. All the lovey dovey stuff, was getting on his nerves, and it hadn't even been a full day yet since they'd found him.

"Friggin pervy bastard." speaking mostly to himself.

"Ready to go Vizy?" Ayelis' voice broke him from his little brooding session.

"Yeah yeah. Lets just go already." he frowned, his eagerness was evident in his tone.

"Right."

The trio headed out the door, Vizy in front. Each of them carrying a few things as they made their way towards the park.

Not much was said untill they all arrived. Ayelis was still considering her decision to keep Loup around. It would certainly liven up things in the apartment, that was for sure. The poor girl had enough invasion of privacy with her two partners around, now she had three men to deal with. Ayelis was still on her thought train, when she saw a hand waving in her face.

"Yoohoo! Liz to Ayelis, you in there?" the meister jumped a bit when she finally snapped out of her daze.

"Sorry! I was just..."

"We know. You zone out waayyy too much for your own good." Vizy cut her off, laughing at his miester. She could be such an air head, it was a wonder she hadn't walked into a bus or something yet.

"Well, everybodies here. We might as well get started then."

"Started with what? What the heck are the baskets and the blanket for?" Black star had been wondering since the last of the group had got there.

Ayelis took the little blanket she had rolled under her arm, she snapped it out, letting it fall on the grass beneath all of them. She gave a satisfied smile, as Vizy and Lyall joined her. Setting out the lunch boxes she had done up for everyone. She had paid particular attention to everyones likes and dislikes, and done each of them their own lunch box. The group was speachless for a moment as they watch the trio set everything up.

"Well come on. Whos hungry? I made one for each of you have a seat okay." Ayelis gestured for them all to sit.

"WOW! You did all this for us?" Maka was touched. All of them had been expecting just a day at the park, walking and talking with friends.

"Duh, you think she did it so you could stare at it all day? Sit down and eat it already!"

Vizy hated stupid questions, and it seemed like the morning had a few of them already, but he ignorred it. He was hungry, and if they didn't wanna eat, it wasn't gonna stop him. Although when Liz took a seat beside him, his heart nearly popped out of his chest. The eldest Thompson sister winked at him, then turned to accept her lunch from Ayelis. Lyall handed Patty hers, the younger blonde laughing happily as she accepted it. He smiled and helped his meister pass out the rest to the group. All ten of them sat on the blanket or near it, enjoying the company of one another. It was the perfect way to relax.

Ayelis had grabbed one of the lunches, looking up and frowning for a moment, before setting it aside and moving on to the next one. Before herself and Lyall, Kid was the last to receive his lunch, as Ayelis handed it to him. He thanked her and made himself comfortable, opening the box to eat like everyone else. When he saw the food, he stopped. glancing back and forth between it and the person who had gone through the effort to make it. She had done each of them their own individual lunch, and apparently she hadn't forgotten exactly what he preffered. Ayelis saw him starring at it, and she stiffened. What had she done wrong? She had done her best to make them all so everyone would like it.

"Um...Kid? Is something wrong?" her voice was a little strained.

"It's... PERFECT!"

Ayelis jumped back, not expecting that reaction at all. Kid's eyes were bright as he seemed to become giddy over the food. The sandwiches she'd made were done in triangles. Two peices set upright in the center, and one on each side. Each triangle had been cut precicely and placed just so. Whether she had done it intensionally he didn't know, but it did appeal to him. Ayelis had done that with most of the sandwiches anyway. She did remember though about his little obsesion, and rather than have him critisize her, she figured it would be worth the little time to get it right. It was supposed to be a relaxing day, and she really didn't need Kid getting depressed over a sandwich. Although she had forgot how creepy it was to see him freak out like that.

"...Thank you... I guess." She raised an eyebrow, almost wondering if it should really be a compliment.

"Don't worry Ayelis. I'm pretty sure you just made his day." Liz laughed at the look on the other girl's face.

"YEAh! Kid would be all mopey otherwise. Right sis?" Patty smiled, earning her a nod from her sister.

"All right then." the axe miester decided it was fine and grinned,"How does everyone like it? I hope I guessed right."

"This is great! Almost as great as me! This food is way better than when Maka cooked for us before!" Black Star patted his belly, letting out a satisfied burp to go along with his compliment. Maka didn't take it so lightly though.

Before anyone could try to stop her, she pulled out a book and aimed for the assasin, "Maka...CHOP!"

All that was heard was a loud crunch, as the mound of reading material collided with the boy's skull. Tsubaki nearly panicked, when he slumped over hitting the ground. Soul Just laughed, along with most of the group. Vizy nearly spit out his food, as he tried to choke back the laughter threatening to escape. Maka sighed, patting her hands together as if she had just finished a dirty job. She was happy that she had remedied her current cause for irritation.

Ayelis let out a laugh at the sight before her. Her friends were truly insane, but she was having fun. They talked for a while, once they had all finished eating. Thanking the trio for going through the trouble of bringing everyone lunch. Liz brought up the topic of their next assignment. The group would be heading up into the mountains to investigate the disappearance of an entire village tribe. The older weapon sister had regretted even asking the question. She hated it when these missions involved disappearing people, and as of late it seemed like thats all it ever was.

Although the group had stayed and Talked for a while, the afternoon was coming to an end. Everyone helped as Ayelis and the boys packed up the picknick site, and said good night. They would all need a good rest for the morning. Ayelis was happy. Spending the afternoon with everyone had lifted her spirit and she couldn't help the nice feeling. Her weapons were also in better moods. Although she was a little upset that not everyone had made it, she had to wonder how long the mood would last for her partners. Considering they still had to get back home, where Loup was waiting.

Maka and Soul had just stpped in their door, when a certain magical golden eyes feline, decided to tackle the scyth to the floor. Blair greeted them both, smiling as she always did. Oblivious to Maka's rising anger over the whole thing. Poor Soul sat underneath her, knowing that his miester would probably take it out on him. It wasn't his fault Blair always seemed to give him a nosebleed. It was her fault for being a tease, or at least thats what he tried to explain to Maka.

"So how was the afternoon? You two have fun?" Blair smiled sweetly, curious how their day had gone.

"Well, Ayelis planned a picknick for all of us." Maka replied, finally calming down and taking a seat on the sofa. "She even went so far as to try and make them personal lunches for everybody."

"What? You had a picknick without me? Thats no fair!" Blair whined, she didn't like being left out of something where she could mooch some food.

"We didn't know Blair. But maybe next time ok?" Maka shrugged, giving the cat a sheepish look.

"It was still pretty cool. Ayelis sure knew how to set it all up." Soul laughed, "Hell, she even made Kid's symmetrical."

Maka agreed. She couldn't help smiling as she thought of her friends. Ayelis really had gone out of the way for all of them. It had been a great day, and they couldn't have asked for anything better than that. Although she hadn't appreciated Black Stars insult on her cooking much. She frowned though, as something had crossed her mind. Ayelis had set one Lunch box aside, and she looked a little put off by it. Maka wondered who it had been for. She thought for a few minutes before realizing who hadn't been with them.

"It was for Chrona..." she lowered her eyes.

"Huh? What are you talking about Maka?" Soul hadn't the slightes clue.

"She must have invited Chrona, but he didn't show." she paused, "I wonder if he's okay."

Soul didn't say anything, but watched as his miester tightened her fists in her lap. Chrona had been avoiding everyone lately, and Soul could tell it was bothering Maka quite a bit. They hadn't seen or heard much from him since the party at Kid's place, and the scythmiester was beginning to worry if something was wrong. Chrona was their friend, and Ayelis had been good about talking to him. She had seen him before, like the rest of them, and often waved a kind hand in greeting. Knowing Chrona though, he'd shy away no matter who it was. Soul Put a hand on her shoulder, a grim expression tainted his face as he sat next to his miester quietly.

Upon reaching their own apartment, Vizy's face quickly went from a content look, to an expression of pure distatste. The three were greeted by Loup the moment they entered the door. A simple nod was given to Lyall, as the white cat made his way to Ayelis. Kneeling in front of her as he took her hand, kissing it gently. She didn't know how much of this she would be able to tolerate. Her face imediately flushed, and she yanked her hand away again. What was with this guy and the romantic attitude?

"Welcome home Miss Ayelis. Lyall... Vizguard" he gave a sly but dangerous grin as he spat out Vizy's name.

"HEY! Never call me that you damn cat!" a vein nearly popped as the boy yelled, "How the hell did you figure that out anyway?"

"I don't reveal my secrets so easily. " he turned his attention back to Ayelis, "So how was the afternoon? Did everyone enjoy the lovely meal?"

"Oh, yes. They all liked it a lot, but..." she frowned. Her cheeks resuming their normal color, "Chrona wasn't there."

Loup gave her a solem look for a moment, knowing she seemed a little upset about this. He shook his head lightly though, and put on a charming smile,"Maybe he just couldn't make it. It's his loss really."

"I suppose, but I was really hoping he'd show. He... doesn't seem to like me very much" she said, setting the untouched food on the counter.

"What are you stupid? Chrona's just a weird kid." Vizy piped up, "He's just got a lot of issues. It's not your fault."

"Vizy's right. I doubt Chrona did it on purpose. He's probably just shy. Maka said he's always been like that Ayelis." Lyall offered his support.

Their meister smiled, still feeling a little off about it. She had called Miss marie, since Chrona didn't have a phone, and left the message with her. Ayelis knew her partners were probably right, but she still felt as though it were something she had done. Loup didn't enjoy seeing her so upset. He wanted to lighten the mood, and how he went about it certainly seemed to liven up the atmosphere.

"I know. I'll run you a nice hot bath so you can relax. I'll even scrub your back for you if you'd like." Ayelis let out a squeek, as she felt his hands gently take hold of her shoulders. Her words were useless as she tensed up completely. Vizy by this point though had enough.

"HEY YOU FRIGGIN PERV! HANDS OFF THE MEISTER!"

Lyall had to hold his brother back, from nearly murdering the white haired feline, who was now carrying Ayelis in his arms, up the stairs and towards the bathroom. All the while the poor girl was trying to protest as her cheeks burned from the implied gesture. Something told him Loup had been joking about the back scrub, but it was amusing to watch all the same. Lyall sighed. Relaxing was probably not an option from here on.

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><p><strong>And voiala. Chapter five is done. I think Vizy needs a bar of soap for that mouth O.o <strong>

**Please leave a review . Please?  
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	6. Death's Warning, A Wounded Meister

**Ah yes, chapter six. I'm really enjoying writing this so far. **

**I do not own Soul Eater.  
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><p>Chrona sat quietly in the corner of his room, clutching the pillow from the bed tightly. Something felt wrong, like he was being watched. Chrona knew enough about being watched to know when it happened. Medusa was dead, but this didn't feel like her anyway. It was different, and it frightened him. Ragnarock was never any help it seemed, when things like this happened. The scrawny teenager looked towards the window, eyes causious as they peered out.<p>

The jet black bird sat there, not making a noise. Red eyes never blinking or leaving. Just watching as if it was waiting for Chrona do do something. It was making him nervous, and Chrona wanted nothing more than for the feathered thing to go away. As if the creature could hear his thoughts, the bird took flight. Leaving the jumpy teen to himself once again. He had wanted to go and meet the others. Miss Marie had told him all about Ayelis' call. It was just that feeling, that something was wrong. Chrona only hoped that Ayelis wouldn't be too upset with him for not going. The pale haired teen sobbed into the pillow quietly, not knowing how to deal with this new issue.

Lord Death had been waiting patiently for the group of teens to arrive. Stein was there with him, waiting to give them the full breifing on their next mission. It was going to be a gruesome one, and the professor only wished he was going along to see about disecting the creature they were after. As the last of them finally made their way to the death room, the Grim Reaper began the discussion.

"All right then. As you kids know, there has been a lot of unwanted activity up in the mountain regions lately. Although I doubt there is a witch involved, this is still going to be a dangerous assignment." all of them nodded, fully understanding what Lord Death meant. "Now then, Stein, could you go over what exactly it is they are looking for?"

"Right. I'm sure you kids have all heard of a Wendigo, correct?" he inquired, adjusting the giant screw in his head.

"I've heard of them. But I never thought they actually exsisted." It was Kid who answered, a thoughtful expression as he considered the possibility.

"Well they do. To be precise, it's something that manifests over time as a result of human cannibalism. Some people claim that humans themselves can be transformed or possessed by a Wendigo." Stein paused to let the informations sink in, then continued his speech, "It would seem that the villages in the mountain areas have suffered from an outbreak of cannibalistic nature, and from it one such creature seems to be responsible."

"So this thing, is not only dangerous. You're saying if it's left unchecked it could also become a kishin?" Maka was a little disturbed by the whole idea.

"Exactly why we're sending all of you. We don't even know if it's just one, or more of these things. So I suggest you stay on you guards all all times."

With the end of his explanation, Stein took the time to light up a cigarette and watch as the group of teens before him digested his words. When none of them spoke, Lord Death asumed they all understood what they were up against. He bounced happily in place, as he looked over the group. He had full faith in them as always.

"I trust you all can handle this?" he tilted his head sideways with his question.

"We'll have it done in no time sir." Maka replied.

"Okay then, I'll let you all be on your way. And Ayelis, don't forget about your soul collection." the reaper pointed a one of his oversized index fingers at the girl.

"Of course sir. I'll do my best." she smiled nervously, knowing she would have to work hard.

Lord Death dismissed the group, waving an encouraging hand as they departed from the Death Room. Though before he let them all leave, he called a few of them aside to talk about another ongoing issue.

"Lyall, Vizy. Could I speak with the two of you privately for a moment?" for once his voice was serious, a rare case for the bouncing Grim Reaper.

Both boys stayed behind, and Lyall had a feeling he knew what it was about. "Sir?"

"You're both aware of your meister's condition, correct?" he knew the answer, but it wasn't entirely a question.

"Yeah, we know. You want us to keep an eye on her right?" Vizy, for once, was taking this issue very seriously.

"It seems that latley she's been getting worse. Maka informed me about it from the last time. I'm worried that if it continues she might get out of controll." he tilted his head once more, "Do you understand?"

"Yes sir. We are aware." Lyall's face was hurt, but he knew Lord Death was right.

"I'll let you to watch over her, but be careful. Your weapon forms have a strange effect on her soul. I'll have Stein run some tests when you get back, but for now boys, you're dismissed."

Vizy had protested against Stein being the one to do _any_ testing on their meister, but Lyall had simply dragged his brother out of the room. Both boys rejoined the group outside, a few questions on what Lord Death had wanted were asked, but Lyall simply shrugged it off as something Vizy had done. Ayelis looked confused, but shook any thoughts that might be accusations from her head. They had to get ready to go now, and it was bound to be another long trip. It almost always was. Passing through the halls of the school, Ayelis had noticed someone who she had been wanting to see for a while now. Her eyes lit up happily, as she spotted the pale haired young boy cowering behind a corner. She approached him slowly.

"Chrona?" she spoke out loud, hoping she wouldn't scare him off.

"A..Ayelis! I... I'm sorry about yesterday. Really I am, I just..." Chrona stumbled over his words, trying desperately to appologize to the girl.

"It's ok really." she smiled, they had been right about Chrona's shyness, "I was hoping I'd get the chance to talk to you though. But I guess it'll have to wait until we get back."

She gave a sheepish grin, and waved a quick good-bye before she ran to catch up to the others. Leaving Chrona to watch her go. Ragnarock popped out to see what was going on, watching as the group departed for their mission. The sword had been unsusually quiet latley, but he had his reasons. Chrona felt a little relieved, but still a nervous wreck. He didn't want to get his friends involved if he could help it. The scrawny teen wanted to figure this out on his own and put a stop to it before it hurt anyone.

It had taken them long enough to get there, but the group finally came to the remote village they had been looking for. The entire place was in shambles, not one soul could be found and to top it off, the stench of decayed bodies was overpowering. Liz had to hold herself back from spewing her lunch everywhere. Patty was looking around, a curious expression as she took in the sight.

"This is awfull." Liz tried hard not to let the nausia take over as she continued to scan the area. She nearly lost it though,when she caught sight of a childs body. Torn by what looked like teeth marks all over the corps.

"It doesn't look like anyone might have survived." Kid's serious tone was even more so than usual.

"How could anyone... do something like this?" Tsubaki was trembling, and even Black Star was silent with the grim air around them.

The bodies of men, women, and children alike were littered everywhere. Maka remained quiet, as her heart ached for all the lost souls. She couldn't imagine what had been going through their minds, when everything happened. She could feel Soul's own disgust, resonating between them. It was something you never could get used to, no matter how much of it you might have seen before.

"We should keep moving. And I suggest you all take weapon form." Ayelis spoke with caution laced in every word, "I have an odd feeling we might run into something soon."

Maka knew she was right, but she didn't like the thought of Ayelis' soul wavelength going berserk again. She looked towards Lyall, silently asking the question of if they could handle it or not. He responded with a simple nod, bracing himself for the worst case scenario. Looking at his brother square in the eye, they both acknoledged one another and transformed. Maka imediately sensed the change in the axe meister, as she took hold of them. though Ayelis said nothing, Maka could still feel the strange resonance coming from her friend. All of the weapons followed suit, and the group prepared themselves for a fight. They were relying in Maka and Kid to sense anything coming their way.

They all proceeded slowly, through the dead bodies and ruins that once were a quaint little village. The frigid mountain air only seemed to make things more ominous. It was Kid who caught the others' attention as he froze in place. His eyes darted towards something in the distance. Maka had already seen it, and they waited to see if it was what they had come for.

"Everyone, get ready. Thats a Kishin egg over there." Maka warned, tightening her grip on Soul. She glanced towards Ayelis, and her worry increased ashe she saw the look on the other girl's face.

"Bring it on. That pile of puke is gonna pay for all of _this._" the eerie grin on her face slowly growing.

"Thats right! Bring it On! Black Star is gonna kick your ass!" the assasin finally finding the words to speak.

Whatever it was, the creature was moving slowly towards them all. Lurching around at some points, then almost scurrying at others. It was nearly in front of them, and Maka could see it's features clearly now. It was large, and very frail looking. Its grey skin was stretched over a skeletal like frame. Bones showing through, like the thing hadn't eaten in ages. Its eyes were pulled deep in their sockets, leering out at the intruders of its new home. All of the teens nearly gaged as the already putrid smell, grew worse. The creature's lips, or whatever was left of them, curled into a repulsive bloody smile, as it took in the appearance of the four meisters.

"Mmmmmmm... fresh meat... freeeesh souuulsssss." it's voice was ragged and scratchy, sending chills down all of their spines.

"So this thing is the Wendigo?" Kid was focused on the creature, "Not much to look at are you." he sneered in disgust.

"Kid, be careful. That things is... so GROSS!" Liz was near tears at the sight of it.

"Yeah! He's Icky!", came Patty's own response. Both sisters were right about that.

"It might be better to do this from a distance." Maka was trying to plot a way to kill it quickly, without getting too roughed up. "Black Star, Ayelis, think you can handle that?"

"Of course I can! A big star like me can handle anything." the assasin smirked, "Tsubaki, shuriken mode!"

Obeying her meister, the dark arm changed forms. Reveiling herself as a large shuriken, ready for combatte. Ayelis however, said nothing as she took a stance. Maka was worried, as she could feel the anger radiating off the other girl, the look of agression spread over her face in a wicked grin. This time Kid was aware of it as well, glancing back towards the axe meister.

"Kid, what is it?" Liz whispered, she could always tell when something was distracting him.

"It's nothing. Let just get this over with."

Kid and Maka weren't the only ones worried. Lyall was trying his best to surpress the violent emotions that were trying to consume his meister. Vizy supported him, but it seemed as though things were getting worse. The boys knew if this continued that even they couldn't keep Ayelis from hurting herself, and possibley others. At that moment though, it didn't matter.

"Soooooo hunnnnnngry...need...to... eeaAAAAAT!" the Wendigo cried out, racing towards the group in a speed they didn't think it was capable of.

"Maka! Guard!" Soul shouted, snapping his meister out of her worrysome daze.

The monster lunged at her. Biting and clawing with everything it had. It barely gave her time to react. Black Star took the innitiative, and began his own assult. Throwing Tsubaki towards the thing, it knocked her back with little effort. Her blades barley left a scratch.

"Dammit! That didn't work at all!" Black Star cursed, as he caught his partner again.

"Kid! Try shooting it!" Maka instructed, hoping that soul bullets would do better than blades.

With that the young reaper aimed, and fired. Striking the beast several times, and causing it to scream in pain. In reaction, it let out an icy breath almost freazing Kid to his spot. Ayelis was watching, her eyes never leaving the Wendigo. She was going to kill this thing, and as if that was all the motivation she needed, she took off towards it. Blades raised and ready to attack.

"Ayelis! What are you doing?" Lyall was panicking. Vizy as well was afraid of what could happen.

"WHAT THE HELL? Maka said fight from a distance you friggin idiot!"

Despite their efforts, Ayelis ignorred them. Taking a wide swing at the grey skinned monster, she let out a yell. Before her weapons could even touch the thing, it moved out of her way. Screaming and growling in a blind rage, it caught her off guard. It's large claws swung towards her, slashing left and right as she tried to guard. Just as it had done with Maka before, it left no time for the girl to react. Its claws caught her, tearing into her flesh as it picked her up by the shoulder. Licking its blood stained teeth, the Wendigo bit down into her arm, savoring the flavor of human flesh.

Ayelis screamed as the pain shot through her body like adrenaline. She had dropped her weapons, and both were unable to help. Their blades wouldn't work on the monster, and it was about to devour their meister whole. Her soul wavelength returned to normal, just in time for her to leave consciousness.

"AYELIS!" Maka's eyes went wide with fear, "Kid, Black Star! We have to help!"

"That dumbass! What was she thinking?"

"Black Star! Now is not the time for critique!" Kid snapped, aiming his pistols and firing numerous shots at the Wendigo.

The creature reeled in pain once more, but refused to let go of their friend. After huffing something under his breath, Black Star joined the fight once more. Stepping up behind the creature for a direct attack. The shock from his soul wavelength was enough to get it to release the girl in its grasp. Her body fell limply to the ground, as the beast roared in anger. Black Star snatched up their companion, pulling her to safety as Maka and Kid used their soul resonance. One death cannon and genie hunter attack later, and the Wendigo was no more. It's body decintegrated, leaving it's soul out in the open.

"The soul belongs to Ayelis. I'll hang onto it for now." Maka only nodded to him, as Kid collected the Kishin egg.

Both of them turned to join Black Star, who was trying his best to help the unconscious girl. Tsubaki had already transformed back, and was pressing a hand to Ayelis' forehead and cheeks. Her face grimaced as she felt barely any heat comming from the smaller girl. Her pulse was weak, and she had lost a lot of blood already. Maka cringed at the sight of their friend, knowing they had to get her back to Death City fast. Vizy and Lyall were back in human form. Both of them had their faces turned down, not saying a word. Their meister was badly injured because _they_ couldn't protect her. Maka watched them, then shook her head, knowing what they had to do next.

"She needs medical attention and fast. The only way I can think of is if Kid can carry her back." she frowned, knowing they'd be a day or two behind, but it was the quickest way to get Ayelis the help she needed. Soul could feel her trying to fight off the mournful expression. Their friend wasn't dead yet. Maka looked towards the reaper, who remained silent.

"Kid can do it! He's the fastest one here!" Patty chimed. She always had full faith in her meister.

"It's not like we really have a choice. Patty and I can stay behind." Liz pointed out reluctantly, "It'll be easier that way."

Liz glanced at Vizy, who still remained quiet. Neither of the boys had objected to the idea, and they knew they'd have to stay behind and catch up like the rest of them. She felt sorry for the brothers, as they watched their meister. Laying unconscious between Black Star and Tsubaki, her breathing labored and her color an almost ghostly white. Liz stood beside Vizy, placing a hand on his shoulder to let him know she was there. He didn't respond, but he didn't shove her hand away either.

"Kid, take her and get moving. I don't think she'll last long if we don't hurry." Maka ordered, her voice was low but urgent.

"Right." he hesitated, but only for a moment, then summoned Beelzebub.

Black Star scooped up the axe meister cafully, heading Tsubaki's advice to be gentle with the girl. Passing her to Kid, the reaper only faultered for a second before recovering his balance. It was hard for all of them to watch as he left with her. Vizy and Lyall were afraid. She had been so reckless, and now she was just barely hanging on to life. Soul watched the two of them. He knew how it felt, not being able to protect someone close to you. That sort of situation was never cool.

"Lets just hope they get back in time."

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><p><strong>Dun dun dun! I really do give Ayelis hell. But she's my character, I can beat her up if I want. Besides, Maka did warn her XD<strong>

**Review please? I'd like to know how I'm doing so far. **


	7. Road to Recovery, or Destruction

**Chapter seven at last.**

** don't own Soul Eater.  
><strong>

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><p>Ayelis couldn't remember what had happened, but she could definitely feel the results of it. Her arms were throbbing, not to mention her head felt as though someone had taken a sledgehammer to it about a dozen times. She tried to sit up, but her body protested painfully. She really had to wonder just what had taken place. Looking around, she guessed she was in the infirmary. An IV in her wrist, and bandages wrapped around both arms. She was a little worse for wear to say the least.<p>

"What on earth happened to me?" She wondered to herself. She remembered being on a mission in the mountains, with Maka, Black Star, Kid and...

"You're awake, glad to see it." the calm, familliar voice startled her. Eyes snapping forward to see who was there.

"Kid?"

She had been so busy thinking to herself, Ayelis never noticed him leaning against the wall. She tried to get up again, almost forgetting her right arm as it buckled underneath the pressure. Pain jolted through her like electricity, and she fell back again. Kid's eyes grew with worry as he darted forward. Once he could tell she was all right, he sighed, relaxing only a little. Her eyes welled up with tears, as she fought back a scream that threatened to escape.

"Take it easy. You're in no condition to be moving around a lot." he gave her a weak smile, resting a hand on her good shoulder. Ayelis flinched at the gesture, but allowed it anyway. She was surprised he wasn't freaking out over her asymmetrical injuries. Then again, it was more serious than a matter of being symmetrical.

"Where is everyone?" she took a look around the room, noticing that he was the only one there.

"Maka and the others are on their way. It was faster to take you on my own." he frowned, starring at her bandages, "You were in pretty bad shape."

She watched his eyes, and pulled the blanket up to try and cover her arms. This was uncomfortable for her. It had always been Lyall that would stay with her in these sort of situations, and Vizy was always hiding around the corner too. This time though, she guessed it couldn't really be helped. Both of them were silent, as neither could really find any words to say. Ayelis felt as if she didn't want to know what happened, and it seemed like Kid wasn't going to tell her anyway. She put her head down, starring at the ceiling.

"I hate to interrupt, but I need to get some blood samples Ayelis." a female voice broke the awkward silence.

"Oh, miss Nygus!" forgetting the pain from her previous attempts, Ayelis made the mistake of trying to sit up again. It was a quick reminder though, as she flopped back on the bed once more. Holding back another scream she knew they wouldn't enjoy hearing. Apparently she was a sucker for punishment.

"Ayelis, don't push yourself. It'll be at least a week or more before you can use your arms like that." Nygus scolded, as she prepared the syringe to take the girl's blood.

Kid took this as his cue to leave. He could see she wasn't comfortable, and didn't want to make it worse. The girl winced as the needle pierced her skin, but compaired to what she felt earlier, it was bearable. She looked up, seeing Kid turn and head for the door, walking slowly. She felt guilty, and as if she was responsible for it all. Him having to carry her back, leaving the rest of the group behind. For making them all worry over her. As soon as Nygus had finished and left to deliver the blood samples, Ayelis called out. Kid had only made it just outside the door, so it wasn't hard to hear.

"Kid?" he made himself visible in the doorway, one eyebrow raised showing he was listening. She sighed, and continued, "I'm sorry. None of you should have to worry so much on my account."

Kid shook his head, a small grin forming as he replied, "Don't appologise. Its what friends do. You can thank Maka and the others when they get back. It was their idea to send me on ahead with you."

With that, the young reaper left her alone. She stared at the doorway for a few minutes, wondering how she should thank all of them when they got back. She realized then, that she hadn't thanked Kid for helping her either. All she had done was appologized when it wasn't needed.

In another room Stein looked at the vial of red liquid, then back an Nygus. He hadn't found anything in Ayelis' blood tests, and after patching her up, he concluded she'd make a full recovery with minimal scarring. Lord Death had asked him to do some other tests, to find out exactly what was going on with her souls' wavelengths. Stein had a feeling though, he already knew the cause of the abnormalities.

"So you think its got something to do with Vizy and Lyall?" Nygus inquired, Sid standing next to her as the conversation continued.

"It's possible that their own soul wavelengths could have a negative effect on her." he paused to light another cigarrette. " Whenever she resonates with them, that negative wave takes over, causing the girl to lose controll over certain emotions. It's a rather strange effect, but even so. It can be a dangerous one if it's not handled with care."

"Kid said something about it. He told us her soul wavelenth changed the moment she touched her weapons." Nygus thought back to when Kid had first brought her to the infirmary. "Something about an angry sort of wavelength, and something else he couldn't quite describe."

Stein nodded, taking in the information and considering it cafefully in his mind. Chances are if Kid could sense it, Then no doubt Maka had as well. It wasn't madness, at least not yet. However, if she continued to let her emotions grow out of controll, then it could evolve into something that would lead to it indefinitely. It was odd though, the trio's souls were compatable, yet they had this sort of effect.

"I'll let Lord Death know about this. The next chance I get, I'll have to see if I'm right." Stein twisted the screw in his head, thinking hard on the subject. "In any case, we can't do much while she's recovering. She'll be stuck here for a couple of weeks at best."

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><p>Ayelis had been sleeping, when the door suddenly flew open. The loud slam jolting her awake, she nearly fell off the bed. Glarring at the person who had disturbed her sleep, her hard stare soffened when she saw Maka. Behind her were Vizy, Lyall and the rest of the group all standing behind Black Star. Two days had passed with her unable to move, and the group had made it home at last. The sight of her friends nearly made her tear up. Kid had come by a few times to check up on her, but seeing the rest of them there made her feel happy.<p>

"Ayelis! Thank goodness you're ok." Maka smiled wide upon seeing their companion alive and well.

"Of course. I'm sorry for worrying you." the pesemistic look she gave, and her sad physical state made her seem so helpless. Maka couldn't beleive this was the same girl who had tried to take on their last target.

"You're just lucky _I_ was there to get your sorry ass out of trouble. If it hadn't been for me, you'd be monster chow by now." Black Star laughed, recalling how he'd stunned the beast and dragged her to safety.

"Right." Ayelis shuttered at the thought of being rescued by the noisy assasin. Her stomache twisting, as nausia accompanied the image.

"In any case, How are you feeling?" Lyall forced a smile. Still very aware of what he and his brother failed to do. Vizy however didn't seem quite so bothered by it.

"Yeah! Kid didn't drop you on the way back or anything did he?" he laughed, earning himself a deadly leer from the reaper he was mocking. "I mean, he does spazz out at the worst times you know. I just wanted to make sure you got back ok." Vizy went on. The faint sound of a kettle boiling could be heard somewhere in the background.

"Vizy knock it off. Kid wouldn't do that." Liz frowned at him. Somewhat perterbed that he was making such jokes about her meister.

"Hey, I'm just sayin he's done stupid stuff before, with the whole symmetry spazz thing." Vizy shrugged, but that was all it took.

"HOW CAN YOU STAND THERE AND INSULT MY MORALITY LIKE THAT!" Kid snapped, "I HOLD A FRIENDS LIFE WITH A LOT HIGHER RESPECT THAN THAT YOU TWIT!" heaving an angry breath, Kid regained his composure quickly. Although the looks from everyone in the room, clearly stated he'd made his point. "Despite that it wasn't symmetrical to carry her, I..did... NOT, drop her."

"Give him a break will you? Kid's a good guy, and besides..." Liz rolled her eyes at the whole thing, "Ayelis is fine. So why make a big deal out of it anyway?"

"Hey! Thats my meister's safety you're scoffing! I..."

"VIZY YOU JACKASS! SHUT UP!" Liz had, had enough.

Her hard stare aimed directly at the axe boy, signalling if he didn't drop the subject now, she would probably grab hold of Patty and shoot him in the face. Patty just giggled, as she watched the exchange between the two older weapons. Ayelis was laughing herself, though it was a little painful. They were all insane, she was sure of it. Although she enjoyed having them all back again. It was far too quiet by herself most of the time, and she had gotten used to them being around. It had only been a couple of weeks but she was really beginning to like being part of this group.

"I owe you all a debt of gratitude. I'm sorry I didn't listen to Maka's warning." Ayelis stared at her hands in her lap, afraid that the scythmeister would be angry with her.

"Live and learn. We all make mistakes, right Soul?" she looked at her weapon, who gave her a nod in response. Then she gave their injured teammate a wide grin. Maka was just glad nobody else was hurt along with her.

Ayelis smiled back, but it was an empty one. Her memory of the whole thing had vaguley returned to her, and she couldn't understand what had come over her in the middle of the fight. She had spent the last couple of days trying to figure it out, but had no luck in putting it together. It was only her second mission with all of them and she messed up.

Liz and Patty saw the discomfort in the bedridden girl, and it reminded the older Thompson of the gift the group had gotten for her on the way home. Patty watched her sister, as she pulled something out from behind her. Stepping forward, Liz flashed a small smile at the girl, before handing her the treat bag. Ayelis blinked at it, and when she reached inside to find her present, her eyes lit up in pure joy at what she found. It seemed Liz had remembered the little incident back on the pirate island, and she and Patty had pitched in with everyone and gotten her a get well gift. A whole bag full of chocolate treats and bars. Enough for a weeks worth of a sugar rush.

"We thought you could use a pick me up. So we stopped on the way in and got you a few things." Liz laughed at the nearly drooling girl in front of her.

"YEAH! Sis and everybody picked out a bunch of stuff!" Patty stated, obviously happy with the reaction they recieved.

Ayelis Thanked them all, wanting to do nothing less than jump out of bed and hug every one of them, even Black Star. Her green eyes sparkling with gratitude and a bit of hunger as she went back to her bag of goodies. Digging through it to see exactly what she got. Vizy had been scowling at the tall blonde who only moments before had put him in his place, but smiled at the sight of his meister feeling better. Lyall had remained silent, as he watched the group interacting with the fragile soul lying in bed. His mind couldn't get past what had taken place only a couple days before. Maka and the others had all told him it wasn't their fault, but he still felt the guilt rise up, regardless of what they said.

Ever since Lord Death had requested the brothers to keep an eye on their meister, Lyall had felt responsible for more than just keeping a close watch over her. He was one of her partners, and therefore her life was put before their own. While the others all laughed and carried on, happy that the mission was over and despite injury, everyone was all right. Lyall was in his own little world, seeming to pass judgement on himself for what everyone else knew was out of his controll.

Maka wasn't blind. She and Soul could both see the look on the younger brother's face, and it wasn't hard to guess what he was thinking. When it was time for them all to leave, the scythmeister and her partner waited patiently by the door, while everyone else said good night to Ayelis. Maka would have to talk with Lyall about it. Soul watched his partner, knowing exactly what was on her mind.

"Maka...I doubt he's gonna listen. The guy's convinced it's his fault." Soul spoke softly, watching as the group all began to head out of the room.

"I know. But still." she stopped her gaze on Lyall. The pained expression still on his face. "We have to figure this out. Not just for Ayelis."

Soul gave her a nod, as they turned to follow the group. Lyall being the last one out of the room, he walked quietly behind the others. Hands tucked in his pockets, and his eyes firmly glued to the floor as he walked. Visy walked in front of his brother, knowing that if he said anything it wouldn't help much. The obnoxious boy sighed, shaking his head at his little brother. Sure Visy felt guilty, but it wouldn't do them any good to wallow in self pity over the whole thing. They just had to keep trying and make it so they could do better, and then next time they could protect Ayelis from getting hurt. He waited for the others to be out of earshot, before speaking.

"Hey, bro. Give it a rest will ya? She's ok and its already in the past." his tone was serious, but lighthearted. " So kick yourself in the ass and lets not let it happen again all right?"

"Easy for you to say. Since when do you take things seriously anyway? Its our fault." Lyall glared intently at him, "Not just for being unable to protect her either."

"I know that, but I'm not busting my balls over something thats already done, and neither should you." Vizy frowned, "We gotta worry about what we _can _do."

Lyall only rolled his eyes at his brother's words, but he knew it was exactly what he needed to hear. However Blunt Vizy was, he did know what was needed. Both brothers arrived back at their appartment, tired and worn out. Loup was waiting for them, but he didn't say much. The white feline already knew about Ayelis, and wasn't about to go making things more tense between him and the boys. Neither of the two even bothered to change or get ready for bed. They simply crashed on their respective matresses, and passed out.

As the two exsausted boys slept, the rest of the group were already home. Each of them knowing they wouldn't see Ayelis in any missions or classes for a little while. Chances were they wouldn't see much of Vizy or Lyall either. For everyone else though, school life would resume like normal. Although Liz would admit she'd miss picking on Vizy, and she was sure Patty would miss Lyall being around all day. They had both gotten used to the idea of them all hanging around. Maka, Soul, Tsubaki and Black star would all admit to the same. Liz sat at the dining room table, head in her hands as she thought about the last couple of days. She watched her sister scribbling away, no doubt another masterpiece with giraffes of some kind. She admired the carefree attitude that Patty had, though most people gave her little credit of anything else. Liz knew her sister wasn't completely stupid. Childish maybe, but not stupid.

The older Thompson stared blankly at the table, sighing heavilly as the younger girl continued to scribble away, humming a quiet tune to herself. Liz thought about the day Ayelis had been taken back to the DWMA, and had to wonder. Kid had been there with her the whole time right? He was probably just as bothered by the whole thing, if not more. Since he'd been the one responsible for getting her back in time. Liz had no doubt in her mind that he'd easily be able to do it, she knew her meister well enough and had complete faith in him. But she still couldn't help feeling that he was under a lot of pressure, and the stupid coment Vizy had made earlier didn't help.

"Kid's been pretty quiet since we got back huh sis." Patty's words interrupted Liz's thoughts,"Wonder whats up?"

"Good question." Liz's face scrunched up in thought again, "I think when he bit Vizy's head off today was the first thing he'd said since we got back. Of course I can't really blame Kid for it. That doofus had it coming"

"Kid wouldn't drop anybody. Even if he goes all funny like usual." Patty gave her sister an innocent look.

"We know that, but I guess some people just don't get it."

Liz glanced towards the door, knowing their meister was somwhere in the mannor. Something had been bothering him since the first mission with Ayelis and the boys, and Liz could tell. Kid hadn't been the only one acting funny either. She noticed Maka and Soul's behavior as well, and it was like they saw something that made them nervous or something.

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><p>Darkness covered the snowy ruins, as cold eyes stared out on the horizon. Unimpressed with the news that they had whitnessed, but not put off by it in the least. It wouldn't matter in the end. The tall shadowed man stepped inside his frozen refuge, the sneer never leaving his slim features as he returned to the inner chamber.<p>

"Lydia!" his tennor voice echoed through the empty halls. At the mention of her name, the young witch scurried to the center chamber to meet him.

"Yes master?" her eyes were lowered, not willing to meet his.

"What word have you brought from our colleagues?" his face was eager, and she could tell he wanted to hear some better news than the most recent had been. He stroked the feathers of a large Raven that made its pirch on his shoulder, waiting patiently for her reply.

"Sir, the wargs are returning with a fresh batch of souls as we speak. As for the others, it's still going as planned. The reaper hasn't found them yet." she kept her violet eyes low, still not willing to make contact.

"Good then. A feast fit for a kishin, soon to be devoured." his dark laughter erupted, as the girl before him trembled. She didn't like the idea of having the Grim Reaper's lap dogs chasing them down at every turn. Unfortunately she didn't have much choice.

Lydia avoided the prying eyes of the raven on her master's shoulder. It seemed to search her soul, and that was not a comfortable feeling. The dark man dismissed her, as he walked deeper inside. He was pleased with the information for now. Lord Death could take out all of his pawns if he so desired. It wouldn't make much difference. The reaper would have to come after him to stop his plan completely, and even then it would be no easy feat. With the difficulty they had with other witches and such, it would be no challenge for him to hold his ground against the DWMA. The cruel smile that played across his lips grew wider, with the thought.

"Let the little worms come. Their own souls will be forfeit to me if they do." he turned his attention once more to his pet, "Now then, show me that witch's child. He could be useful to us if the cards are played right."

The bird let out a loud caw in reply to its master's request, before taking flight once again to complete the task. Black wings spread out wide, as it left the man's shoulder with a gust from its dark feathers. He watched it leave, all the while laughing low to himself.

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><p><strong>And at last I have chapter seven done. I've had a couple people asking for it so yeah, here you go. Its more or less a descriptive chapter. Ayelis does need her recovery time after all. She wont be the only one either when the story progresses.<strong>

**Leave a review****, they make me happy ^_^**


	8. Enter the Ward, Former solitude

**And so we have chapter eight. Enjoy.**

**I do not own Soul Eater  
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><p>Inside the Death room, two figures stood side by side. Watching the progress of one of the students, "Perhaps she should consider a resonance partner. She's been solo for the majority of this semester. Of course that doesn't include her weapon."<p>

"She'll have to decide that on her own won't she sir?"

"True. We'll see what she says soon enough."

Lord Death and Spirit had been discussing a young meister from the academy. Maka's group was full, what with them taking on Ayelis and her two partners. That was normally more than the average group had. It was usually three meister weapon pairs to a group. lord Death had made the exception for it though, considering it was an unusual case. However the student they had been discussing, was a capable meister on her own, but she would need to learn to resonate with a group.

"Well lets see her abilities then. She's off on an assignment now. From the looks of things she's doing quite well" Lord Death bounced as he looked back at the large full length mirror in the center of the room.

The mirror rippled, and both men watched patiently as it revealed a young red haired meister, walking calmly through a grave yard. Rain showered the entire area, making a mess of mudd and water. Her expression was solem, unwavering but not uncarring. She was heading towards a ragged figure, standing nearly twice her hight. In its grasp was a little boy, trembling for his life. She stopped about ten feet away, eyeing the shadow causciously.

"Grave Diggers. Preying on the souls of those who wander through here, be it children or adults." her serious expression never changed as she spoke,"I will have your soul."

The beast before her hissed, though it had once been human, that part was no more. The monster unveiled a mouth full of rasor sharpe teeth, as it grinned wickedly. Throwing the poor boy to the side, it lunged for the meister. Hungry for a challenging soul to eat. She never moved as it came strait for her. Raising her right arm, she readied herself for the attack. Her weapon's blades penetrating the creature's flesh, as she thrust forward. It reeled in pain, screetching and trying to pull away. She tore through its chest with one slash, stopping it in it's tracks. The body dissolved, leaving the red colored Kishin egg in its place. The little boy stared in awe at his savior, before she approached him.

"Are you hurt?" she received a shake of the head, indicating he was fine.

"Good. I suggest you get going. You parents are probably worried about you." her voice laced with a soothing tone, as she directed the boy to leave.

He nodded curtly, and ran off in the direction she assumed was his home. Once she was certain the boy was gone and out of harms way, she returned to the wayward soul. Her weapon resuming human form, as a short dark haired girl now stood next to her meister.

"We got him. Man those things are ugly." the shorter girl laughed, but got little response from the other.

"We'd best get going ourselves. Lord Death will want a full report."

"Yeah yeah, I know. " the weapon rolled her eyes, "Augusty, you think we could go for some pizza later or something? I'm starving!"

"Once we get back, I'll think about it."

As both girls made their way home, Lord Death nodded in approval. The pair he and Spirit were observing were indeed very capable, but they still needed to form a resonance team. He was going to have to assign her one himself it seemed, and he knew who might just fit the bill.

"Spirit, could you bring her to the Death Room for me? I'll need to speak with her about the issue." the reaper recieved a nod from the deathscyth, as he left to fetch the young girl and her weapon.

Class was nearly ending for Maka and the others, and the lesson for the day was on focusing their resonance rates together. Unfortunatley, Ayelis was still out of comission. It had been a week since the incident, and she had healed fast. However she was still far from top condition. Maka looked around the room, as she spotted the brothers. Both Visy and Lyall hadn't been themselves at all, and she was starting to worry. It didn't help they couldn't participate in the class activities without their meister. The two looked more gloomy now then when Ayelis had first been hurt.

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><p>The bell finally rang, and Marie dismissed the class. The woman could tell her students were troubled, but there wasn't a whole lot she could do for them, other than lend her support. Her other concern though, was not about Ayelis and her weapons. It was about a certain black blooded child, who was once again acting more withdrawn than usual. Marie was aware of the last time Crona had done this, but she wasn't sure what the cause of it was this time. The blonde haired teacher gazed towards an empty seat, wondering what could possibly be wrong. Gathering her things, she exited the empty classroom hoping the feeling she had wasn't one to be concerned about.<p>

As Marie was left to ponder on her thoughts, the group of teens was already on their way to visit their currently handicapped companion. Maka and most of the group had been there to visit her every day, and she was glad to see Ayelis was gradually healing. She could use her arms almost normally now, with little to no pain at all, and was allowed to leave the dispensory to recover at home. The ashen haired axe meister was frustrated, but glad to finally be back in her own bed. Lyall had kept her up with class and did what he could to help so she wouldn't fall behind again. That was the last thing she wanted. One thing though, had been driving the poor girl nuts since she got home. The entire week she'd been away, none of the boys had done so much as a load of dishes. There were take out boxes everywhere, along with dishes piled high in the sink. Clothes littered the livingroom, as it was obvious the three had free run of the appartment. Lyall had attempted to clean up, but his brother and Loup's mess was a lot to handle on his own. He wondered how Ayelis kept up with it all. It had taken her two full days to get half of it done.

"Ayelis?" the younger brother had returned home first, to find his meister nearly hanging from the ceiling, with a spray bottle, rag and a determined look on her face. "What in the world are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm still trying to finish cleaning the mess you three left me." she shot him a dangerous look, as he cringed. She had been scrubbing something that looked like gravy off of the ceiling. She didn't want to know how it got there to begin with.

"It wasn't so much me you know. Visy is a total pig, and Loup wouldn't help at all." Lyall whined, trying to defend himself on the issue.

Ayelis only rolled her eyes sighing. She didn't want to argue, and at this point her arms were aching pretty badly. Fortunately this was the last of the disgusting mess, and she could finally relax a little. She had been pushing herself hard, just so she could get back into school and continue with her lessons. As she moved to step down, the front door slammed open and two blurs ran past. Knocking her down in the process. Though she knew whos voices they had been yelling at one another, she couldn't do much about it. Ayelis yelped in shock as she figured she'd be lying on the floor in pain. To her surpise and relief, she was held by Lyall, who had a rather annoyed expression on his face.

"I swear, those guys." Lyall set his meister down, before chasing after the two boys that had barrelled through the room.

Ayelis was about to head after them, when she heard a friendly voice behind her. Tsubaki was standing in the doorway, an appologetic look spread over her face. The ninja had seen what happened, and as usual felt she had to appologise for her meister.

"Sorry Ayelis. Black star wanted to visit, and well... yeah." the taller girl smiled nervously.

"It's ok, but why is Visy screaming at him now?"

"Well, they sort of had another fight on the way here. Black star won, and Visy got pretty mad." Tsubaki explained it all. Visy hated losing to the short assasin and would try almost aything to get an upper hand on the wild boy. So far though, nothing has worked.

"YAHOOOO!"

The axe meister rolled her eyes as she heard the loud yell and crash from up in the boys' room, Some rather loud shouts of profanity were heard soon after. Black star came flying down the stairs again, a huge triumphant grin plastered to his lips. Ayelis wasn't happy with the noise, as it meant another mess to clean up.

"I'm not even going to ask what happened." her flat expression showing her displeasure.

"I just showed that jackass whos boss! ME! The amazing BLACK STAR as always!" he laughed hard as he proclaimed his greatness like any other day. Ayelis hated it. She wondered how Tsubaki didn't have a nervous breakdown from his constant stupidity. She froze though when she saw a certain white haired feline grinning from ear to ear at her. Tsubaki watched her a little confused as to what she was so disturbed by. Turning around to the doorway she had just been standing in, Tsubaki spotted the reason.

"My Mistress! I'm home, and I see we have company." the blue eyed feline entered the appartment. Things were getting so loud, Ayelis' head was starting to spin.

"Loup, please don't call me that."

"You saved me from a dreaded life on the streets. I'm simply expressing my grattitude." he winked at the unamused teen, and turned to Tsubaki. "And who is this lovely lady? A friend of yours miss Ayelis?" The ninja's face lit up like a tomato, unaware of Loup's usual flirtatious bahaviour. Ayelis simply shrugged it off, knowing he didn't mean anything by it.

"Her name is Tsubaki. That crazy, blue haired monkey is her meister Black star." she pointed to the boy who was now hanging off the banister, avoiding Visy's angry fists and shouts of revenge.

"Well it looks as though we have a full house then." Loup smiled, amused by the boys fighing.

Ayelis ony wished Maka and Soul were around. A good chop to the skull was what all of them needed right about now. She was too tired to argue with anyone though, and was now nursing a headache that had been brought on by all the shouting. She would be glad when she could get away from home, and back on the field.

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><p>Lord Death sat in his death room, sipping on tea and patiently waiting for Spirit to return. He remained quiet as he thought carefully to himself. The students his deathscythe was bringing to him would have a few things to work out, but that was all part of learning. As he enjoyed another long sip of his tea, Lord Death could hear the foosteps of his expected guests. Spirit strode up to the reaper, with two young girls following close behind him. Both girls were quiet, but only one of them had a serious expression. The other had an aloof sort of grin on her tanish face, not seeming to mind being called by their headmaster to talk. Lord Death greeted them, motioning for them to take a seat.<p>

"Welcome girls. Would the two of you care for some tea?"

"Oh sure! I'd like some sir." the less intimidating girl smiled, accepting a cup of the hot beverage from the reaper.

"And you Augusty?" Lord Death tilted his head.

"No thank you." her face remained stern, "What is it you called us here for sir, if I might ask?"

"Ah yes, well since you asked, and I'm sure Tria is curious as well." he recieved a nod from the dark haired girl. "I would like to congradulate you both on another successful job. Grave diggers seem to be becoming more of a problem lately. You gave quite a stong performance as always."

"Thanks! It's really all augusty though, she's super awesome." Tria laughed lightly, giving her meister a pat on the back. The solem face still remained though, as the conversation continued.

"I did bring you here for another reason other than just congradulations." he paused to take a sip of his tea, "I'm sure you are both aware that the rest of your class are all assigned to groups."

"Well yeah, for that dual arts and resonance thing right?"

lord Death nodded, "I brought you two here to assign you resonance partners."

Augusty made no motions, her face remained as it was. Tria however was excited to hear the news. "Oh wow! So we get our own group to hang around with?"

"Yes, although it isn't so much a group. I actually thought you two would do better with one set of partners. Is that okay?" he inquired politely, hoping that both girls would agree.

"The numer of people doesn't matter to me. Is that all Lord Death?" Augusty stared strait into the unreadable mask.

"One more thing. I want you to meet with the weapon and meister I'm assigning to you." he nodded to Spirit who exited the room quickly, and returned with one person next to him.

For the first time since entering the Death room, Augusty's expression changed. Her face went from serious to surprised, as she stared at the person standing next to Spirit. Tria simply smiled and waved, not really knowing just who this student was. The red headed meister knew exactly who it was though. To say the least she wasn't exactly impressed.

"Augusty, Tria. I'd like you to pair up with Crona and Ragnarock. The four of you will be working as a team from here on. So play nice together okay."

Lord Death bounced happily in his seat, as the group stared each other down. Crona fidgeted under the hard glare of the girl in front of him. Tria was completely ok with it all, but Augusty wasn't so sure. Wasn't Crona an unstable person? She huffed lightly, shrugging off the initial reaction she had, and resumed her stern outlook once again.

"All right then, I'll see you all later. Get some practice in with group resonance and we'll see about giving you an assignment tomorrow. Bye bye!"

As the students walked towards the door, Lord Death waved at them. Though he could tell Augusty was not happy with the situation, he knew it would benefit them all in time.

Tria walked backwards, facing her meister and their new partners. She watched them closely, before deciding it was far too quiet. She ran behind them, slinging an arm over each of their shoulders and smiling like a mad woman.

"Sooooo, how about some pizza? I'm starving!" as if to prove her point, the dark haired girl's stomache growled. She laughed and simply kept walking between the two, "See? Told ya, even my stomache agrees."

"I suppose it would be a good idea to get some supper. We haven't had anything since we returned." Augusty sighed in defeat, as the three headed out towards the nearest pizza place.

Crona wasn't sure just what to do or say. This was the first time he'd ever met the two, and he wasn't known for his social skills. He decided to stay quiet, until Ragnarock opened his mouth. "PIZZA! All right now this girl knows her stuff! Hey Crona hurry up, I'm hungry Dammit!"

The Little black blob popped out from Crona's back, his tongue hanging out like a dog at the mention of food. Tria was thrown off by the demon swords sudden appearance, but she wasn't afraid. More like she was highly intrigued by him. Augusty only snuffed him off, ignorring the rude outburst from the weapon. She wasn't exactly looking forward to resonating with the little monster. She could probably work well with Crona alone, but Ragnarock would be a hard one to deal with. Their first attempts would have to wait though, seeing as both weapons seemed to be starving and causing a bit of a scene. While the teens had arrived at the pizza place, Tria was decided on an all meat lovers extra large pizza, for herself. Ragnarock was leaning over Crona's shoulder, stretching to see the choices. The greedy little demon sword, was looking to get the same thing. Two whole extra large pizzas, one for each of them alone. Augusty could only imagine what she'd be paying for all of them.

Crona spoke for the first time since leaving the Death room. "Um, I..I'll have whatever you're going to order. I'm not r...really that hungry."

"Ah, so you can speak for yourself." Augusty gave him small satisfied grin, "We'll share a small one then. I don't have the appetite that my partner does and it seems that you don't either."

"Hey! Are you calling me a pig again Oggy?" Tria had stopped drooling long enough to respond to her meisters remark.

Not much bothered the red headed girl, but when her weapon had mentioned the nickname, Crona noticed her twitch, before sending a chilling and dangerous glare in the other girl's direction. Obviously she didn't like the name very much. Tria only laughed heartilly, knowing she hit the nerve she'd intended to, and went back to ordering. Ragnarock laughed loudly, pointing at the red head as he did.

"Oggy? What a nickname! What'd you do to get that one girly?" he laughed, trying to regain what little composure he had.

"Ragnarock! That isn't nice!" Crona tried to defend her, but it didn't do much good. The sword began pounding on his head, telling him to shut his mouth.

The four of them were drawing so much attention, Augusty refused to get them anything. She appologized to the staff, and waltzed out of the pizza place angrily. Tria whinning behind her, and Crona following. She was embarrassed and not amused one bit by the situation. Did Lord Death really expect her to cooperate with these delinquents? Her own partner she could handle, but along with the other two she would most likely go insane before they ever achieve anything. This was the whole reason she had avoided a resonance partner for so long. Although she knew it would be necessary at some point, she wished that now wasn't it.

Lost in her annoyed thoughts, Augusty hadn't noticed they were back at the academy. Tria waved at hand in her face, waking her from her daydream. Crona waited quietly while the girl regained her senses and addressed them all once more.

"I would rather save the practice for another time. Crona, We'll see you tomorrow." she stated curtly and turned on her heel.

"Hey! Don't ignore me like I ain't here! HEY!" the little demon sword shook his fists.

Ragnarock yelled at her, but she kept on walking. Tria waved at the two, before catching up to her meister. Augusty sighed, realizing that this was going to take a lot of work, and getting used to. It would be like babysitting, only worse. She shook her head from her thoughts as they walked along. All the while Tria's stomache still growling, since none of them got to have any Pizza.

Crona had waved to the girls as they left, then let out a loud sigh as he finally relaxed a little. He'd hoped things could have gone better, but as usual that was not possible. Maka had warned him that he'd have to start advanced lessons, and she had been right. Crona however, wasn't sure if he could deal with partnering up with two girls. To top it off the meister seemed to hate him. She was so cold, even her dark green eyes reminded him of icy water, and a certain someone that he'd rather forget if he could. The fact that he was afraid of the black bird that had been visiting his room regularily, didn't help much. Things were going to get much more comlicated, and very soon.

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><p><strong>Well how am I doing? Had to give Crona some lovin here too, although there wasn't much actual love there. And nobody got any pizza, bummer. But I'll be eating some tomorrow night! :D <strong>

**Leave me a review!  
><strong>


	9. Morning Muster, Meet the Quinns

**I'm still alive! I swear! I've just been busy with other things along with lack of inspiration. I'm sorry if I kept anyone waiting.**

**Enjoy the chapter!  
><strong>

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><p>She woke with a searing pain in her neck, and something heavy on her chest. Slowly opening her eyes to get a glimps of her surroundings, Ayelis sighed in content to know she was in her room. Her memories of the evening before we a little foggy, but she recalled the reason why at least. The teenager groaned, when she realized it.<p>

Black Star and Tsubaki had paid them a visit, and things got quite out of hand. She and Tsubaki had been talking in the living room, when all of a sudden Black Star came rampaging down the stairs, with a rather aggressive and angry Vizy in tow. Whatever the assasin had done, it was more than enough to put the taller boy in a blind rage. Without warning the two boys plowed right into the female meister, knocking her out cold. That was all Ayelis could remember, but it did explain the pain she was experiencing. She had a feeling she knew what happened after that anyway, considering the white ball of fur now sitting on her chest. He was making it a little hard to breath right, and she only wondered if he had been there all night.

She went to sit up, slowly letting the cat fall from her chest to her lap, as he stirred. Letting out a huge yawn, Loup opened his eyes to gaze up at her. A grin ran accross his face as he saw she was awake, and she gave him a scratch behind his ear.

"So have you been here all night?" Ayelis let her curiousity ask the question.

"Not all night, but I did check on you several times." the white cat replied, the familliar look of mischeif in his eyes. "And don't worry I didn't take your cloths off this time."

Seeing she was still in her cloths from the night before, Ayelis only tensed a little at his coy remark. "Thank you." was the only thing she could think to say, as her face flushed from the memory.

The cat mearly grinned wider, as he saw her reaction. He was content to simply play with her thoughts for the time being, as he stretched out and leaped down to the floor. He could hear the faint noises coming from downstairs, and assumed the boys were already awake. Ayelis let out a sleepy yawn, stretching out her back a little. She felt the pain in her body subside as a small amount of relief snaked its way across her sore muscles. Her partner Vizy, and Black Star had rammed her like a freight train, but she'd be fine. She was already pretty well recovered, and just needed a day or two before she could get back into classes.

Making her way from her room after nearly falling out of her bed in a tangle of sheets, Ayelis headed down to the kitchen to find out what all the commotion was about. When she arrived, she found Lyall and Vizy both working on what looked to be a huge and delicious breakfast spread. Pancakes, sausages, boiled eggs, hashbrown and all kinds more were all layed out on the table. Ayelis had to hold herself back from drooling over the enticing meal, as she made her way in to take a seat.

"Lyall... why did you guys make all this?" she continued to gaze at the ammount of food in front of her.

"Oh hey Ayelis. Glad to see you're feeling ok." the younger of the two brothers was releived to see her unharmed from the previous night. He smiled at her, knowing she was wondering about the big breakfast. "I guess you didn't know after you blacked out, but everyones heading over here this morning. So we though it would be a good idea to make breakfast for us all."

"You mean everyone as in, the whole group?" Ayelis was still half asleep as she stared at Lyall with a blank expression.

"Duh, who do you think he's talkin about?" Vizy piped up from working in the sink, washing dishes as his brother finished cooking.

Ayelis ignorred his snide little coment, and turned around to head back upstairs. She needed to get a shower right away if they were going to have company. Hopefully this time nobody would be plowing into her at full force. She almost wished Tsubaki could keep Black Star on a leash, or maybe she could keep Vizy on one. Either way the two boys were far too aggressive, but thats who they are. She sighed heavilly as she made her way to her bedroom once again. Shutting the door behind her to gain the privacy she needed. She was nearly finished dressing, when she heard Loup's voice outside her door.

"Miss Ayelis, there was a letter here for you yesterday, but seeing as you were unconscious." he waited a moment, before the door was opened to reveil the fifteen year old girl he had taken to call ing his mistress. "Here, I thought you might want to see it."

Ayelis blinked, curious as to who it was from. She took the letter from Loup's hand and tore open the envelope, eagerly taking out the paper inside to read what it said. There was a photo as well, and Ayelis imediately deadpanned. Loup was confused by her reaction, and looked over her shoulder to see what was the matter. The photo was of a couple in their mid-thirties, standing on a beach in god knows where. Both were smiling, and acting foolish in the photo.

"Who are they?" the feline inquired.

"Those are my parents." Ayelis replied, but her voice was faint, as she was slowly walking towards the stairs, still reading the letter. Her green eyes nearly popped out of her skull, as she skimmed across one paragraph in particular. She took a minute to read over the entire thing at least three times as she got to the bottom of the stairs.

_Dear Ayelis_

_Hello honey! How are things? We hope you're not doing anything too irrisponsible. I certainly hope you're keeping the house tidy, I find nothing worse than living like a slob you know. I hope those boys of yours are behaving themselves. _

_Your father and I do worry about you a lot. Speaking of which, that brings me to the point of this letter. We're coming for a visit! Isn't that great? We've been travelling so much, and I miss my little girl so we decided to come and see you and the boys. We'll be there in about a week, hmm I guess thats about when this letter will actually get to you. Oh well, see you soon honey!_

_Love Mom and Dad_

Ayelis stood completely still, eyes not moving from the last two sentences on the paper. Loup was waving a hand in front of her face, when vizy and Lyall noticed her standing in the doorway.

"Ayelis? whats wrong?" Lyall was afraid to ask.

"Its... my parents." her voice had gone up an octave as she spoke, making all three boys a little nervous now.

"What about em? Whats up Aye?" Vizy cocked his head to the side. She looked up at them, and the look on her face was almost telling them to run for their lives. She swallowed a dry knott in her throat, and proceeded to answer her partners.

"They're coming to visit...today!"

Silence spread across the appartment, as the news hit home. Both Vizy and Lyall paled at what their meister had just reveiled to them. Loup had a feeling he would soon find out why, and didn't like it in any way. What was to start off as a day shared with friends, would soon be turning into an all out nightmare.

Someone knocking at the door broke the uncomfortable silence, and now was giving the four a sense of dread, as Ayelis slowly made her way to the door to greet who ever it was. She opened the door and braced herself, but was almost overjoyed to see the three people standing on her front step. Instead of finding her parents, she found three familliar faces that were a little put off by her gasp of relief, as she let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Death the Kid, Liz and Patty all stared at her in confusion.

"Okay, so do you always gasp for air when you meet someone at the front door?" the tall blond raised one eyebrow at the girl who had greeted them.

"I'm sorry Liz, I thought it was someone else actually." Ayelis gave an appologetic look, and stepped aside to let the trio in.

Patty was excited about eating breakfast somehwere else other than Kid's mannor, "Wow! Something smells reeeaaally good huh sis." she chimed happily.

"Sorry, we are a bit early. I told the girls we should have waited until eight but Liz was insisting." Kid only glared at the older weapon beside him. Liz just shrugged it off and followed Ayelis inside.

"Its not like it matters, breakfast is breakfast. Besides, it's fifteen minutes before eight. We aren't that early."

"She's right, it's perfectly fine. Maka and the others should be here shortly too." Ayelis smiled, closing the door once the three were inside. She only hoped her perents didn't show up while her friends were all there. Then she noticed what Kid was holding, "Are those belgian waffles?"

"Of course. They are the perfect symmetrical breakfast food." he smiled brightly at the thought. Liz only rolled her eyes, while Ayelis smiled back nervously. It still weirded her out whenever he did it.

It didn't take long for the others to make their way to the appartment. Maka and Soul had arrived with a bowl of fruit salad to add to the breakfast table, and Tsubaki and Black Star showed up shortly after them with a batch of fresh baked muffins. All in all it was quite the spread of food. Ayelis was smiling ear to ear, happy that her partners had planned all of this. She had been out of comission for a while now, but her friends seemed to make the time go much faster.

The group had just finished eating, and they were all sitting in the living room discussing a few things from class and the missions that Maka and Soul had been on since Ayelis' mishap. The scythe meister was well on her way to becoming a school celebrity, and Ayelis was a bit envious of the blonde haired girl. While she was getting better at hunting down kishin souls, she was still far behind in collecting her share and the witch souls for each of her weapons.

The axe meister's face turned sullen, and her feet became the focus of her interest as the others continued to chat. It was Liz who noticed the girl's sudden change of mood, and opted to sit next to her. She nudged the younger teen gently, and Ayelis looked up at her with an unreadable expression. It wasn't hard for Liz to figure out that something was really bothering her, and by now the older of the two thompsons was a pro at trying to cheer people up. With all her experience from dealing with Kid, she could almost always tell when someone was feeling down about themselves. Liz whispered to her so as not to attract attention from the others right away.

"So whats eating you? Something on your mind?" she asked, a soft tone of comfort laced into her voice.

"Oh, no... it's... it's nothing." Ayelis smiled up at the older girl, "I'm okay Liz."

The pistol only snorted at her response, knowing it was a poor lie. "You can tell me if somethings wrong you know. We're all here for you, so speak up."

Liz placed a hand on Ayelis' shoulder, trying to reassure her that she could trust all of them. By this time the group had already caught on that something was up, and they all had turned their attention to listen. Patty smiled wide, stating that Kid always had problems he had to talk about. Though most of them were about some sort of flaw, or lack of symmetry. Maka agreed, as she and Soul had gone through plenty of hardships, and they had supported each other through all of it. Tsubaki smiled wide and simply said that they were always there. She didn't have to sit alone all the time and stew in her own worries. Vizy and Lyall both nodded their agreement, and Ayelis was finding herself feeling a little better about everything.

She would have continued with the conversation to thank all of them, if it hadn't been for the loud knocking at the door and a shrill voice coming from the other side. Ayelis and both her partners froze, knowing exactly who it was outside. Loup, who had been sitting on the sidelines for most of the morning, cringed as he could only imagine what was about to take place. Whatever relief Ayelis got from the talk with everyone was thrown out the window, down the street, into the gutter and landed in a pile of sewage. As if the knock wasn't enough to annouce the comming of doom, someone had to ask the question Ayelis didn't want to answer.

"Who is that? I thought we were all here already." Kid had turned his attention to the door with everyone else. All of them curious as to who was interrupting their morning.

"They are. Thats..."

The poor girl couldn't finish her sentence, as the door burst open. A tall and rather slim looking woman stood in the doorway. Arms folded over her chest as she scanned the interrior of the building, before spotting the individual she was looking for.

"Ayelis! There you are my little girl!" the woman's voice was nothing to be proud of, as it reached the ears of everyone inside. If nails on a chalkboard was bad, then this was ten times that.

Making a beeline for the teenage girl, the woman took barely any notice of the company she had. Ayelis had no time to get away, as she was quickly brought into the strongest barehug she had experienced in a long time. She always thought it was considered more of a mauling than anything, and her breath escaped her the second the woman's arms were around her. everyone watched the display, confused as to who exactly this woman was. That was, everyone but Vizy, Lyall, and Loup. At first sight of her though, even the flirt of a feline had decided to steer clear of her, as he made his escape out through the kitchen.

"Oh my little baby! I missed you so much!" the woman let loose her death grip, and Ayelis tried to collect her breath once again. "You've grown so much sweetheart, I certainly hope you're behaving while we aren't around." her face was scrutinizing as she looked the girl up and down.

"Mrs. Quinn, I can promise you Ayelis hasn't done anything like that." Lyall spoke up, knowing exactly what this woman was implying of his meister.

"Oh, hello...Lenard was it? And your brother, I trust the two of you haven't done anything shameful either?" she spat, glaring at both boys with disgust. Her brown eyes thin and narrow as she tried to pierce them with her didstaste.

"It's Lyall, and no we haven't." he sent an equally hard stare back at her.

Ayelis was getting more uncomfortable by the second, and she hated that all of her friends were present to whitness everything. Liz, Maka and everyone else were watching the entire scene. Completely baffled as to what was going on. Ayelis sighed heavilly, and decided that she owed them an explanation.

"Everyone, this is my mother. Devilda Quinn." all eyes were now on the slim woman in the center of the room. Devilda only scoffed at the group of teenagers around her. To her they looked like nothing more than a bunch of delinquents. She would have thrown them all out that instant, if it wasn't for her husband standing in the entrance. Ayelis caught sight of him, and smiled as she went to greet him.

"Well now, it seems we've come at a bad time. I'm sorry Ayelis, we didn't realize you would be having company." her father grinned in an appology.

"It's okay. Everyone this is my dad, Angello." Ayelis actually beamed as she said her father's name. She had missed him at least, but her mother was a different story all together.

Angello's tall frame seemed to tower over his daughter, though his presence was much less threatenning than his wife. He nodded a greeting towards Lyall and Vizy, silently appologizing for Devilda's accusations. Both boys only smiled sheepishly, knowing it wasn't his fault.

While all of this had been taking place, Black star was getting frustrated seeing as he wasn't the current center of attention. His ego had had enough of sitting quietly, and he wouldn't allow anyone to steal his spotlight. The assasin felt that his own intruduction was necessary. Though Tsubaki tried to convince him otherwise, her meister was too stubborn to care.

"HEY! NICE TO MEET YA! I'M BLACK STAR, THE GREATEST ASSASIN EVER!" he belted out every word, laughing like a madman as he pointed to himself. Tsubaki groaned, as they watched the wild young meister. "Your daughter's pretty lucky, to know someone as big of a star as I am!"

While Angello only smirked at the boy, Devilda was utterly mortified by him. She turned to Ayelis, eyes glaring hard, "You are FRIENDS with THIS? Ayelis what is WRONG with you!" her voice screetching harshly in her daughter's ears. Ayelis only cringed, and ignorred her mother's wailing.

"Come on now dear, thats enough. We better get going to the hotel." Angello sighed, knowing that she was making things hard for Ayelis.

"Honestly, the only one out of this bunch that doesn't look like some hooligan besides our daughter is this boy!" Devilda pointed an angry finger in Kid's direction. The young reaper only scoweled at her. None of them had taken kindly to anything Mrs. quinn had said.

"Mom, stop ridiculing my friends and please leave." Ayelis only gave her mother a flatt expression, as she asked her to vacate her home.

"Fine, but I promise you I'll be approching Lord Death himself on this issue young lady. I'm sure he would dissaprove of such lowlifes hanging around my daughter." Devilda gave a wicked sneer to the group, thinking that bringing the grim reaper himself into the argument would shut them all up. Ayelis only clenched her fists, but other members of the group were a little more offended.

"My father was the one who assigned this group. I can assure you whatever you might think, he's done it to benefit Ayelis, and the rest of us." Kid frowned at her, keeping his composure as she sent venomous eyes in his direction. He didn't care for the lack of respect this woman gave her own daughter, let alone the rest of them. "I would advise you to be careful what you say Mrs. Quinn."

Devilda stood with her mouth agape, starring at the boy who had just claimed Lord Death to be his father. Straitening up, she turned on her heal and stormed out of the appartment. Angello following behind her after appologizing once more to the teens, and giving his daughter a pat on the head. Ayelis sat down, breathing out a frustrated sigh as she heard her parents car start and drive away. This was not the morning she had hoped for at all. She started appologising repeatedly for her mother's behaviour, knowing that she had no right to say such things to them. Maka and Tsubaki assured her it wasn't her fault, and Soul simply shrugged it off saying it was fine. Apparently cool guys don't get upset over hags screaming at them. They all stayed to help clean up the breakfast mess, and to cheer up Ayelis. Liz was talking with Vizy and Lyall, as the rest of the group mingled in the living room again after the cleanup was done.

"So is her mom always such a riot?" Liz watched the younger girl closely as she spoke.

"She's been hateful ever since Ayelis chose to attend the DWMA." Lyall explained, "Even more so when she found out we were her partners."

"The only freedom Aye ever got was when Angello was around."Vizy joined in his brother's explanation, clenching his teeth as he continued, "Tell you the truth, I think she blackmailed him into marrying her or something. Nobody would wanna stick with a bitch like her. She's got some nerve thinkin we'd take advantage of Ayelis like that."

Liz knew how they felt. Protecting Ayelis was just as important to them, as protecting Patty or Kid was to her. They were her brothers, weather Ayelis' mom liked it or not. Maka, Soul, Tsubaki, and even Black Star could see that Devilda was not a welcome guest for any of them. It was no wonder Ayelis acted the way she did. Kind but withdrawn, and Liz hated to see it. She could tell that having her mother around was going to bring Ayelis down in more ways than she wanted to think. At least Kid had put the hag in her place, that alone would make a big difference for their shy little axe meister.

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><p>Later that night, when Devilda and Angello arrived at their hotel, The Deathbed and Breakfast, the woman nearly lost it. She couldn't believe her own daughter had told her to get out, and the nerve of that boy speaking to her as if she were nothing more than a street rat herself. She didn't want to think about how far those trashy kids had corrupted her little girl. Devilda paced around their hotel room angrilly, grumbling to herself and occasionally griping to her husband about how they were going to get Ayelis away from that disgusting group of delinquents.<p>

"Those brats have no idea who they're dealing with. I'll tear my daughter away from them if I have to!" she shreaked into the mirror, looking at herself proudly as if she had accomplished the impossible.

Angello sighed, letting his wife go on with her rediculous train of thoughts. He knew Ayelis was in good hands, and he trusted Lord Death's decision to have her in that particular group. He had liked Vizy and Lyall from the day he'd met them, and he trusted both boys to look after his daughter. Though he wasn't sure exactly what to think about Black Star, he was sure the crazy boy would be a good companion, and he had a good feeling about the others, especially Lord Death's son. What ever his wife was worried about, he wished she would just give it up.

Devilda had proceeded to plot how she would _rescue_ her daughter, when Angello had finally had enough of her ranting. He sat up in bed, and took a breath, "Devilda! Would you get off our daughter"s case and GO... TO... SLEEP!" with that, he scooted back down under the blankets, rolled over and closed his eyes. A wide grin plastered on his face as he heard his wife's nearly silent protest.

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><p><strong>I want a breakfast buffet now O.o Waffles!<br>**

**So what did you think? Poor Ayelis doesn't catch a break does she XD I really do pick on her too much. But oh well. R&R please?  
><strong>


	10. The Plot Thickens, Stronger Bonds

**And chapter 10. Enjoy folks!**

**I do not own Soul eater.  
><strong>

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><p>Insanity spreads much like a disease, as it passes to everyone in time. The same is true that some people can withstand it longer than others. Though in time, it seeps into our minds and destroys us from the inside out. That is the nature of the illness, and like many diseases, once it is there, a small part will always remain within. A Kishin is simply the catalyst to speed up the infection, and this was exactly what The DWMA fought to prevent. To Ingrahm, it was a beauty yet to be beheld by the world. Insanity was a natural thing, and he would embrace it. Bringing it to its full potential, Ingrahm would show the entire world the nature of insanity.<p>

He stared out into the snow covered horison, focusing on a black sillouette in the distance as it enlarged in size every few seconds. Reaching out his hand, he waited for his pet to return to him. The giant raven took the invitation and purched itself firmly on his shoulder, crowing loudly as it landed and tried to make itself comfortable. Scratching under the large bird's chin, Ingrahm grinned with a malicious expression before asking his pet for its report.

"So my dear, what news have you brought me of the witch child?" he almost sang his question, as he was looking forward to good news. The raven cawed loudly before looking its master in the eyes and allowing him so see what it had seen.

The image of a thin teenage boy came into view within Ingrahm's mind. He watched as the teen was curled up on a bed, clutching the pillow to his chest tightly. The boy would look up every now and then with a fearfull expression upon his face. Ingrahm knew he could see the bird watching him, and the man only grinned wider. The image faded and changed from the boy's room to outdoors. Ingrahm could see the teen talking with a girl with long red hair, who looked as if she wanted to be anywhere else at that moment. Both teens had their weapons drawn, and the girl seemed to be explaining something.

"Well now, it seems he's found a new companion. Interesting." he spoke in a low menacing tone, as the images faded from his mind. "We'll have to keep our eye's on that one now won't we?" the raven crowed at it's master's words before taking flight once again to spy on the poor young boy.

Ingrahm retreated to the inner chamber of the ruins, the place he had claimed for his personal quarters. He was waiting for a particular two individuals to arrive and bring him his next batch of souls. The two leading members of the Wargs, a group of immortals who neither cared what they did or who it might bring consequences to. Ingrahm was expecting them at any moment. When he heard the footsteps of the little witch Lydia, he knew they had arrived.

"Lord Ingrahm sir, The Wargs are here to see you." her timid voice echoed through the large room.

"Good, send them in. I can't wait to get those lovely souls." the look of hunger in his eyes terrified her, and she nodded curtly as she ran to bring the expected guests.

A large lanky man accompanied by a smaller more agile young woman, entered the room. Each of them carrying a large sac over their shoulder. "Hey old man! Heres your catch of the day!" the girl shouted before grabbing and throwing both of the bags towards the strange alter that Ingrahm was standing beside.

"I thank both of you. Brass, your little group has done well." he took the bags, smiling in a way that sent chills up all their spines. Brass didn't completely trust his employer, but he didn't speak out agianst him either.

Melk on the other hand, was far more vocal than her partner, "You better make good on your half of this old man! Or I might enjoy tearing your ass appart!" she gave a toothy grin, that Lydia swore she was almost as frightenning as her master. Immortals were known to be aggressive, and Melk was only serving to prove that point.

"Lydia, be a good girl and take these to the storage area for me."He motioned for her to come forward, and she did as he asked. "Now then, Melk. I promise you I'll keep my word. Just keep up the work. You and your companions will all be rewarded in due time."

"We damn well better be." she snarled, then turned to leave, "Come on Brass, next hunt is starting."

With a nod as her answer, the larger man followed her out of the ruins and into the cold wastelands surrounding them. Ingrahm was smiling wickedly, as he watched the pair leave. Progress was being made faster than he had expceted, and he was more than pleased with it. As he paced around the altar with a smug expression, a small black bird made its way inside and to his shoulder.

"Hmm, what have you brought for me little one?" touching the birds forhead he searched its mind to find what he was looking for. He devious smile only widened when he saw what the crow had to show him. "This could be interesting."

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><p>Ayelis was more excited than she had been in a long time. The girl was finally allowed to return to classes, and she was making the most of it. She had been up before her alarm even had a chance to go off, and had all of her things ready to go. Vizy and Lyall were groggily sitting at the kitchen table, watching their meister nearly bouncing all over the appartment. Both boys were happy for her of course, but they wished she would be a little more subtle about it all. Before they could even finish their breakfast, Ayelis was out the door and heading up the street. She took her time to enjoy the walk, and was more than happy to see the familliar building at the center of Death City. After nearly three weeks of being useless, Ayelis was never happier to see the DWMA.<p>

"I suppose I really did miss being here." she smiled to herself as she climbed the steps of the academy.

She was early, but she didn't care. She had actually wanted to pay a quick visit to someone she hadn't seen since before her hospitalization, and now was a good time to do it. Making her way down the quiet halls of the school Ayelis found the room she was looking for. She knocked four times and waited for a response. The door opened slowly, and the teenage boy that had answered was a little surprised to see her.

"Ayelis? Why are you here? It's... too early for class yet isn't it?"

"Well I wanted to come visit you. And congradulate you on your new resonance partner too." she smiled at the nervous boy in front of her, "I heard Augusty Ward is hard to get along with, but I hope she doen't give you a hard time Crona. I've seen her in class before."

"She's nice, but I don't think she likes me very much." his eyes drifted to the floor as he kicked his toe into the ground. Crona hadn't had a chance really to visit with Ayelis for a while, so he was glad in a way that she came to see him.

"Of course she doesn't like you you moron! Who would?" Ayelis jumped at the scratchy little voice, but soon remembered who it belomged to as Ragnarock appeared above Crona's head. She ignorred the little black demon and kept her attention on Crona.

"I'm sure everything will be okay."she tried her best to stay positive, knowing that Crona had a hard enough time doing so on his own. "Why don't I wait here with you until class starts? I don't really have anywhere else to go untill then."

Crona's eyes shot up at her suggestion, then he glanced around the room almost as if he was looking for something. He shifted nervously before speaking, and Ayelis was a little worried that she had said something to make him upset. "Lets go somewhere else okay? To...to wait for class to start."

Ayelis nodded, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. The two made their way down the halls of the school in silence untill students started to show up. Ayelis was happy to be back, but something was off about Crona. He was more fidgety than usual it seemed, like he was afraid someone was going to jump out of nowhere and attack him. Even Ragnarock was quiet, which made her uneasy. Her worries were calmed and shoved aside for the moment though when she saw her partners heading to the classroom. Lyall seemed more awake now, but Vizy was still in a groggy mood. With Crona close behind her Ayelis stepped inside the familiar room, and almost imediately she felt uncomfortable. Several pairs of eyes were on her the instant she stepped through the door. All of them surprised to see her after her long absence.

Maka and Tsubaki had spotted their friends, and waves eagerly for them to take their seats. Crona sat to Maka's left next to a red haired girl with stern eyes, as Ayelis took the seat behind them in the next row beside Lyall. The scythmeister was glad to have her back in class. Ayelis smiled at all of them, before handing a notebook to each Maka and Tsubaki.

"Your notes. Thank you again for lending them to me. At least I can still keep up with whats been happening in class thanks to you two." she said with a rare tone of confidence, as both girls nodded in response.

"So Ayelis, whatever happened to your parents that day? Did they come back later or something?" the pigtailed girl questioned her, wondering how things had gone with the Quinn family.

Ayelis's face dropped a little, and she didn't answer. The truth was she didn't know where her parents had gotten to, and when it came to her mother she didn't exactly care either. Her father however, she did worry about. He hadn't called or anything since their encounter a couple of days before. As the students filed into the classroom, and Marie took her place at the front. Class had begun, and Ayelis was grateful for the distraction. The topic of her parents always hit a hard nerve, and she didn't like to discuss it much. Maka could tell she wasn't in a talking mood any longer, and chose to leave her alone.

Marie took attendance, noting that a few of her students were still missing, but she continued. "All right class, lets get started. And seeing as we have a student rejoining us today I think it would be a good idea to go over some of the things we've covered these past two weeks." Marie smiled as she addressed the class, seeing Ayelis as well as Crona had both made themselves present. She wondered though, just how long it would last.

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><p>Lord Death was doing everything her could not to cover his ears, as the shrill voice continued to rattle his brain. The woman speaking had insisted on a meeting with him, and now he was regretting it. Devilda Quinn hade found her way to the DWMA and had demanded that she be allowed to see Lord Death. She was determined to get what she wanted, and despite Angello's attempts to stop her, she had finally gotten her wish.<p>

"I want you to explain to me how you think those filthy little nosepickers are a suitable group for MY daughter!" she was raging, "She is a much higher class than any of them, and I want you to find her proper teammates imediately! And I suggest you try to controll that son of yours! The nerve of that boy talking down to me the way he did, I was appauled!"

The Grim Reaper had been listening to her bash away at Maka and the others, and was keeping his cool pretty well despite how he wanted to lash out at her. Until she mentioned Kid. Lord Death was not easily angered, but in this case he was ready to fly off the handle. "My son was stating the truth Mrs. Quinn. He explained it all to me the night you arrived in town, and if you say another word about my son or ANY of my students, I can have you permanently removed from Death City." the reaper glared at her, a warning not to push the issue, "Now I see no reason to change Ayelis' group, and I suggest you leave them alone. I am the founder of this academy, and I take pride in all of my students. That includes Ayelis and her partners."

Devilda was speachless once more. Not only had she failed to accomplish her goal, but she was once again shot down. This time by the Grim Reaper himself. Her husband sat quietly, waiting for the heated discussion to come to an end. When he saw that his wife had no words left, he took that as his cue. Angello stood up and approched his wife, taking her by the arm and began to lead her to the exit. He knew Lord Death was angry, and he would be too if someone came in talking trash about his child. He only hoped that Devilda would see she was wrong from this, and start to rethink her ways. Not only for their daughter's sake, but for her own as well.

Lord Death let out a heavy sigh, as he watch the couple leave the Death Room. He had only met Angello when Ayelis first came to the DWMA, and now he understood why the poor man hadn't brought his wife the first time. Spirit had been in the room through the entire thing, and Lord Death was amazed that he hadn't burst into the conversation to defend Maka. He had asked that Spirit remain calm and quiet, as he knew it was going to be a rather intense meeting. Kid had already warned his father about the woman's hot temper. The reaper could tell though, that his deathscyth wanted nothing more than to slap the fowl hag of a woman for everything she had said about Maka and the others. If Maka's mother had been there, no doubt she would have hit Devilda full force for her insults.

"Well, now that thats over. How about some tea?" Lord Death's cheery composure had returned, and he was back to being his bubbly self. Though it still bothered him to know that Ayelis' mother was such a hateful woman. He had to wonder, if it was her that had caused the irregular pattern of the girl's soul to begin with. He would have to get Stein to look into it further. For the moment though, Lord Death would keep an eye on Devilda while she was still in town.

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><p>Death the Kid stood thinking quietly to himself. The young reaper had a nagging suspicion that his father had done the same as him and put Devilda Quinn in her place. Kid was waiting outside of the death room, as he had just finished talking with Lord Death about the woman before she stormed in. As she passed the boy, she merely glared at him as if she were certain she would prove him wrong by talking with his father. From how she came stomping out, Kid guessed that things hadn't gone in her favor. Angello spared him an wave and a nod, letting him know that he had nothing to worry about. This was a relief, and Kid decided to make his way back to class. Liz and Patty knew where he had gone and were waiting for their meister to bring them the news. By the time everything had taken place and Kid returned to class, it was noon. He spotted both his weapons waiting for him just outside the classroom.<p>

"So how did it go?" Liz was the first one to speak.

"I don't think we have to worry about Mrs. Quinn. My father handled it well I think." he replied with a satified smirk, but it quickly changed to a concerned frown.

Liz watched her meister, and wondered what made him change his mood this time. She followed his gaze inside the classroom and towards a lone figure still sitting at her seat. Liz frowned, as she realized who it was. Ayelis was sitting alone again, and looking as though she was a lost little puppy. Patty caught on to what they both were starring at, and imediately she went inside and waltzed right up to the gloomy little axe meister. She plopped herself down in frot of the ashen haired teen, and stared strait at her. Ayelis was confused by Patty's actions.

"Um... what are you starring at?" she shifted nervously, but Patty's eyes stayed glued to her face.

"How come you're by yourself?" Ayelis only blinked at the simple question. Not entirely sure how she should answer, but Patty continued, "You can come hang out with us, right sis?" she waved to Liz, motioning for her sister and Kid to come sit with them.

Liz took the seat on the right side of Ayelis, and smiled brightly, "Yeah, we don't mind. Where's that doofus partner of yours anyway?" she looked around, seeing absolutley nobody else beside the four of them in the room.

"Oh... Vizy and Lyall had something to do." came the simple reply, as Ayelis only gave them a weak smile. "I said I would wait here."

"Look, if this is about what your crazy mom said, then don't worry. you're stuck with all of us." Liz grinned, but it didn't seem to help much. Kid shushed her, knowing that the topic wasn't a good one to bring up.

"Hey I know!"

All three stared at Patty as she jumped up from her seat and bolted for the door. Confused once again by the younger sister's motives, they all waited for her to return. It only took a moment for Patty to come racing back to the classroom, panting heavily as she sat back down in front of Ayelis. The blonde gave the biggest smile she could muster, and held out something to the female meister. Liz laughed at the expression on the girl's face as her sister held up the item.

"I bet this will cheer you up!" Patty beamed happily.

"Is that..." Ayelis stared at the item as her eyes widened, recognizing her edible weakness.

"Yup! It's cookies and cream!" Patty giggled as Ayelis took the chocolate bar from her hand, looking at the younger Thompson sister as if to ask her permission.

Patty nodded, still laughing st the other girl's expression as she quickly tore open the wrapper. Ayelis was soon drifting off into happy land as she enjoyed the sweet treat. Liz could only laugh, as she watched and Kid couldn't help letting out a snicker. The bell had rang, signalling that it was time for the students to return from their lunch break. Ayelis completely ignorred it, as she was happily munching away on the chocolate bar Patty had so graciously given her.

As the rest of the group made their way back to class, they all looked at their friends who were already sitting and laughing away. Maka stopped to take in the amusing scene, and Soul just shook his head, trying not to laugh himself. Tsubaki giggled as she watched the picture, and Black Star howled out, falling to the ground in hysterics. Ayelis was blissfully unaware of them all, and she was more thankful than ever for whoever it was that ever invented chocolate treats. When Vizy and Lyall entered the room, both boys deadpanned, as they caught sight of their meister. Once again, she had fallen victim to the pleasure a simple treat could bring, but they didn't mind. At least she was smiling again. The events of the past few days on hold and forgotten for the moment. Even as Crona returned to his seat, the boy couldn't help but smile at the group. The red head next to him from before, only watched. Her eyes betraying her expression as she observed the group. She saw the smile on Crona's face, and decided that she would give her best, since the boy was her new resonance partner. A genuine smile finally broke through her stone composure, as she watched.

Marie called for them all to take their seats and calm down, though she was glad to see that her students were in better spirits since the morning. "All right, lets pick up where we left off this morning."

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><p><strong>And there you have it. Not only did Kid tell off Ayelis' mom, but Lord Death did too. Gave some insight into my villains ^_^ I like Melk cuz she's feisty and yay for cookies and cream!<strong>

**R&R please ~.~  
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	11. Hunches, Reasons to be Reckless

**Yay another chapter so soon. I was just in the mood I guess to write. God knows when I'll get another one done so yeah. Enjoy!**

**I don't own Soul Eater, sadly.  
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><p>Augusty stood waiting outside the classroom, her arms folded over her chest as she tapped her foot . The red head was waiting for her teammates to exit the room so they could finally get some practice in. Her patience was running thin though, as the expression on her face went from calm to annoyed. When they had first become a group, she had told them they would start practice the very next day. However, that had turned into an entire week as it seemed her new partner had dissapeared for a while. Not to mention that Tria was goofing off every chance she got. Augusty sighed, and wonder why her weapon never took anything seriously. She was about to give up with waiting for them, when the familliar bubbly voice called out to her.<p>

"Oggy! Sorry we're late again! I just stopped to talk with someone first and I asked Crona to wait for me." the girl smiled sheepishly at her meister, knowing that she wasn't exactly happy about wating so long.

"It's fine, but no more fooling around. We have to get some practice in. I'm sure Lord Death would like it if we started sooner than later." her eye twitched, as her annoyance became quite clear to Tria. "It's already been a week, and we've got nothing done at all."

"I know I know, and I'm sorry. But Crona had some things he needed to do so I said it was okay." she pleaded with Augusty, hoping for forgiveness. "Please don't be mad at him."

The red head only grunted in response, but Tria recognized it as the answer she wanted. The two waited by the door, as their newest companion joined them. Crona was jumpy as usual, but he made the attempt to be positive, seeing as this would be a new experience for all of them. Ragnarock popped out from behind the timid boy, resting on his head as always. Every time he showed Tria was excited to see him. The girl had grown pretty fond of the little demon sword, and Augusty could not understand why.

"EEEEE! Thats so cool how you can just pop out like that! I wish I could do that with Oggy." the tan skinned girl pouted.

"No you don't. The process by which that would be possible is not something you or I would enjoy going through. Trust me." the meister gave her weapon a hard glare, as she made her point. Crona only nodded as they all walked down the halls of the school and outside.

Augusty had found a place where they could do some training without causing any damage. It would be her first time resonating with more than just Tria, and she wasn't entirely sure how things would go. She was worried that Ragnarock would overpower them too much, but for the moment, all she needed was to focus on the task at hand. As Tria and Ragnarock took on their weapon formes, both meisters started to concentrate as their soulwavelengths began to pulse. At first, they couldn't match one another at all. The result was an explosion of chaotic soul waves hitting each of them. Crona looked away from his partner, feeling as though it was his fault. The red head only shrugged it off, demanding they try again. She was just as new to this as him, and she wasn't going to give up so easily.

Their second attempt went better, as Augusty adjusted her soul's wavelength to match Crona's. She found it easier to do this, rather than force the sword meister to her level. She was surprised that Ragnarock wasn't overwhelming them all. Once their resonance rates were stable they held it for as long as possible, before Augusty was satisfied. They would have to test it all in battle, but she was confidant now, that they could at least complete the link.

"Thats enough. I think we accomplished our goal." she spoke sternly, as they all tuned down the soul waves.

"Whoohoo! I think we nailed it!" Tria shouted as she returned to her original form. "Now we can tell Lord Death and he'll give us our next assignment!"

Crona fidgeted as Ragnarock took his place over the scrawny boy's head again, "Well its about time! I've been bored stupid just sittin around here every damn day!" the little demon stretched his arms as if to emphasize his point.

"Well then, I suggest we get moving." Augusty turned swiftly, and began headed back to the school. The others followed, Tria bouncing happily beside Crona as she poked at Ragnarock, who was screaming at the girl to stop pestering him.

Crona was surprised with what they had accomplished. He never thought that he would even be able to resonate with anyone. Maka had told him though, all he needed to do was try. It took a lot of cencentration, but he was relieved that the first practice had gone well. The poor boy was startled from his thoughts though, as Tria burst out with an idea.

"Hey! Since we didn't get to the last time, how about we get that pizza now?" she rubbed her stomache, as it growled quite intensley at the suggestion.

"Yeah! Now theres a good idea!" the little black blob agreed with his fellow weapon, "What do ya say _Oggy_? Hehe, pizza sounds good."

The red haired meister shot a venomous eye towards the demon sword, but he only laughed at her. She shook her head, knowing that she was also a little hungry. She gave in to the pleading cries of her own weapon, as the four of them headed off to order their well deserved pizza. They were off to an interesting start, and for the second time while with them. Augusty smiled a true caring smile , as she watched the other three.

Although she was back in classes, she didn't exactly miss all the dissections whenever Stein was teaching. Ayelis nearly lost her breakfast, as the proffessor performed his skills on a rather exotic looking lizard. She was certain she would have ralphed on Soul sitting in front of her, if it wasn't for the one person she could hardly stand. Black Star had been late again, and as the assasin burst through the classroom door he nearly missed the flying scalpel that whisped by his head. Ayelis tried to stiffle a laugh along with several other students, as she watched the look of terror on the boy's face. Stein was not amused by the constant late arrival, and he made it quite clear to the class. The room was silent as he gave an eeri grin, and Ayelis was sure he was intending to experiment on Black Star next. She turned to look at Tsubaki, and her face changed from amused to sympathetic. The poor ninja was wallowing in embarrassment as she watched her meister. Fortunately for the now cowering assasin and his weapon, the bell rang signalling the end of class.

"How dissapointing. Oh well, I'll be expecting an essay on the labs we did yesterday and today. Five thousand words and no less. If you were paying attention I should expect some well detailed reports." his voice was monotone as always, but held that creepy pitch added to it. Ayelis had to think the proffessor could rival her mother when it came to intimidation. "Class dismissed!"

Spinning away on his chair, Stein rolled out of the room cackling all the way down the hall. As the students all proceeded to pack up and leave, Maka approched the axe meister. She new Ayelis was pretty well up to par, and they would soon be getting a new assignment from Lord Death. Maka just wanted to make sure that Ayelis would be up for the mission. She tapped her friend's shoulder to gain her attenition and smiled as Ayelis looked up at her, wondering what she was going to say.

"So, you looking forward to the next lesson we get? I'm sure Lord Death has one ready." the pigtailed blonde asked happily. Soul came to stand next to his meister, curious what the girls were talking about.

"Well I'm a little stiff, but other than that I should be just fine. Lord Death can give us our assignment any time. Right guys?" she looked to her partners, but neither of them were there to respond.

Ayelis looked around, but she couldn't spot the two anywhere. They had come to class so she knew they were around, but she wondered where they had taken off to in such a hurry. Maka only shook her head, as Soul laughed. Ayelis hadn't noticed them leave at all. apparently she had been too focused on other things to pay attention. The axe meister frowned as she heard Soul's snickering. It wasn't her fault she zoned out in class sometimes. She would rather not focus on taking notes of the insides of helpless creatures, as their teacher pulled them appart.

"Care to elaborate on whats so funny Soul?" She raised an eyebrow at the scyth, unamused by his behaviour.

"I thought Maka was bad for beeing such a bookworm, but you're a real airhead too!" he laughed louder, earning him a book to the head from his meister.

"That's no reason to be laughing at her Soul." she turned to Ayelis after dusting off her book, "I think I saw Liz talking to them before they left. I'm not sure where they went though, sorry.'

"Its fine. I'm sure I'll find them eventually."

Ayelis smiled and waved good-bye to her friends, before departing from the classroom herself. She wondered where Vizy and Lyall had taken off to, and what they had spoken to Liz about before leaving. Her mood changed from content to rather depressed as she starting thinking about it more. Ever since she had recovered from her injuries, Ayelis had noticed both her partners spending less time at home or around her. If it were only Vizy she might not care as much, but Lyall was being distant as well.

"Maybe I should get out more?" speaking to herself again, as she walked down the halls of the school. "I've been so cooped up , it might be good to get out for a day or something."

The last time she was out of the house just for fun, was the night at Kid's party. It wasn't a terrible night, and she had gotten to know the group since then. Ayelis was lost in thought again, as she tried to decide what she would do. She was unaware of the pair of narrow brown eyes watching her. The person they belonged to stood quietly observing the teenage girl, silently contemplating on a plan. She would get her daughter back if it was the last thing she did, and her opportunity was knocking. A wicked grin passed over her face as Devilda plotted to herself.

Ayelis made her way home slowly. Taking her time to enjoy the walk, but the fact she was alone still bothered her. Her parents were still in Death City, but she hadn't heard from them since they dropped in to her appartment. To Ayelis It seemed like her family was avoiding her. Maka and the others still came around often enough. In fact it seemed like even Liz and Patty were around every day, besides in class anyway. She always had someone asking her how she was doing or if she needed help. Ayelis was getting used to having company around most of the time, and she enjoyed it. She was slowly becoming more sociable as she continued to spend time with everyone. When she reached the appartment, she found nobody home. Loup was out doing whatever he pleased during the day, and Vizy and Lyall hadn't made it home yet. She though for a moment or two, then decided.

"Another walk sounds good to me." She told herself with a somewhat sad smile, before heading back out the door.

"So what was the result Professor?" the boy stood beside his brother, waiting patiently for the results of the current test Stein had done on them. It had something to do with measuring and analizing their soul wavelengths.

"Well we can't be comepletely sure until we have a direct result with your meister." Stein explained, taking a long drag from his cigarette. "But I've got a feeling that our assumptions are correct."

Lyall's face dropped as the words coming from Stein's mouth dug deep into his mind. Vizy just stood there quietly, knowing exactly what his brother was thinking. The two boy's didn't want it to be, but the fact was that they could be the ones putting their meister in danger. If not both of them, then at least one of them was giving off a negative wavelength when resonating. Not the news that they had wanted to hear.

"So... after three years, it's been us this whole time?" Lyall asked quietly. His fists clenched at his sides.

"Like I said, it isn't confirmed yet. But by the looks of the test we just conducted, I'd say thats the case." Stein frowned at them, knowing this was hard for both boys to take in. "We won't tell her untill the two of you are ready, but I suggest it be done as soon as possible. Or you may not have a meister to resonate with much longer. At the rate that her soul wavelength has been changing I'd say about six months to a year befor she goes completely berserk."

"Six Months!" the boys replied in unison, obviously disturbed by his answer.

"To a year. Don't blow this thing out of proportion." he corrected them, "It's possible to find a solution within the timeframe. Right now though I need you both to keep an eye on her. Lord Death has Maka watching her as well, but she isn't aware how serious this is yet."

The brothers only nodded, as they fell silent once more. Stein explained that they were not to say a word to Ayelis untill he was ready to conduct the necessary tests. Additional observation would help in the diagnosis anyway, so it was best for them to wait. Vizy huffed, but agreed to it, and Lyall just nodded in response. They had no words for what they were feeling at that moment. A thought came to the younger brother's mind though and he was sure it was relevent to the issue.

"What about her mother? As far as I know she's still in town." Lyall looked at the professor, waiting for an answer.

"Lord Death has been keeping a close watch on her. Something about that woman doesn't add up. That and I'm positive she'll try something soon."

The three were quiet, as they sat in an uncomfortable silence. Lyall understood what Stein was talking about, and it made his skin crawl. Devilda was up to something and whatever the outdome of it was, it wouldn't be good for Ayelis. Thanking the professor before leaving, the brothers headed for home in a much more somber mood than before. Stein watched them leave as he took another drag. This was much more complicated than he would like to admit, but if there was even a chance that the problem could be resolved. He would have to get working on it. His own insanity was enough proof that a girl like Ayelis didn't deserve to suffer the way he did. He was going to have to talk with Marie about the next step.

Ayelis had somehow found her way to the basketball court downtown, and was now sitting on one of the benches starring at the unmoving ball in the center. She hadn't played the game the last time she had been there, but she was in the mood to do something active. With or without anyone there to play with her.

"Might as well." Ayelis told herself, before walking over and grabbing the orange ball.

She dribbled for a moment then took a shot at the net, watching as the ball bounced off the backbord and through the net. She smiled, before running to grab the ball again. At least she wasn't as bad as Maka. apparently the scythe meister didn't even know any of the rules. Ayelis at least knew the basics of the game. She coninued to drill herself a little, just a few things she happened to remember but nothing too intense. Ayelis only wished there was someone else around. She stood bouncing the ball, thinking to herself. The poor girl was stirred from her thoguhts though when she heard a voice behind her. She squeeked in surprise and dropped the ball, letting it roll towards the newcomer.

"Well who do we have here?" stopping the ball with her foot, Liz yelled back to her meister who was trailing behind her with his hands in his pockets. "Hey Kid! Hurry up will you?" Patty was standing next to her sister smiling brightly as always.

"Ayelis? What are you doing here by yourself?" he inquired as he stopped in front of her.

"Well I... I was just out for a walk, and I ended up here. Why?" she looked at the trio still a little shaken from them catching her off guard.

"No reason. We just saw you here and thought you could use some company." Liz replied, looking around as if she expected to find somthing or someone. "What happened to Tweedle dee and Tweedle dum?"

"Huh? Oh you mean the boys." Ayelis had to think who Liz was reffering to, "Well I'm not sure where they are right now." she frowned as she remember going home to the empty appartment.

"Well screw them, how about we stick around for a while?" Liz grinned at the smaller girl, hoping to keep her from another gloomy evening alone.

"Hey sis, why don't we play two on two? You can be on my team!" Patty chimed happily.

"Sounds good to me. Ayelis?" Kid glanced in her direction as he waited for her reply. Ayelis' face lit up with a surpised but happy grin and she nodded. She wasn't expecting to meet up with anyone, but this was a welcome surprize indeed.

The game stared and the four of them were having a blast. It was more amusing than anything else when Liz tried to dribble the ball past Kid and he ended up stealing it from her. She wasn't that great at the game to be honest, and Patty was screaming at her for not paying attention. The younger Thompson was pretty scary when she took things seriously, and apparently sports was one of those things.

"Come on sis! They're Kicking your big fat butt!" Patty whined, while she waited for her sister to pass her the ball.

"HEY! MY BUTT IS NOT FAT PATTY!" Liz made the mistake of stopping and holding the ball while glaring angrily at her younger sibling. When she realized she'd stopped she tried to turn around away from Ayelis and keep going.

"Hey! No travelling!" the axe meister caught her mistake, calling it out.

"She's right Liz, you can't walk with the ball like that." Kid added.

"Dammit! I'm so tired of this already. I'm not a sports person!" Liz had been complaining every time she was called out on a mistake or foul. "Besides it's getting dark. Shouldn't we get going?"

Ayelis looked at the sky, and Liz was right. The sun was sleepily setting and their daylight was fading as the moon seemed all to happy to take it's place. She didn't want to stop the game, but it looked like Liz was about to quit anyway. She had been enjoying herself so much that the time just sort of flew right by. Ayelis had gone into dream land again, or so Liz thought. She decided to wake her up and see if they could all head home.

"Hey Ayelis! Think fast!" Liz huffed the ball in the axe meisters direction, but unfortunately Ayelis didn't snap out of it fast enough.

The basketball smacked her right in the head, and she fell forwards in shock. Liz deadpanned, wondering if she should try to help the girl, or just die laughing. The taller blonde picked the latter, and nearly doubled over as she cackled away. Patty was on the ground laughing her heart out as well, as Ayelis picked herself back up and dusted herself off. She sent a hard glare in Liz's direction, but it didn't do much to stop the older girl from laughing. Kid just watched, shaking his head and smiling at the three girls. Apparently Soul, Black Star and Vizy weren't the only ones who found humour in the mishaps of others.

"Well I suppose we should get going then." he turned to Ayelis, "Will you be okay on your own?"

"I should be fine. I imagine Vizy and Lyall are home by now anyway." She smiled, but for some reason it seemed hollow to Kid. something was off about her. Was she hiding something?

"Come on you two. It's cold and I wanna go home." Liz groaned, but stopped when she noticed the look on Kid's face. Something was up, and she didn't like the feeling of it.

"Um... Kid?" Ayelis was a little nervous from the way he was looking at her. His face was serious and his gaze made her feel like she was half naked. That feeling you get when you know someone is picking you apart or figure you out. Not a comfortable feeling at all.

"We'll walk you home. It's a nice night, so I don't mind." he stood beside her, gesturing for them to get going.

Liz protested as she just wanted to go strait home, but that didn't stop her meister. Patty just laughed and followed. She was never bothered by the cool air and she was happy to be spending more time with friends. Ayelis was flattered. She had said she would be fine, but Kid insisted they go with her. In a way she was grateful for the company. She had been feeling down most of the day, and she couldn't figure out why. It only made things worse when Vizy and Lyall took off after class. Maybe she was just overthinking it. Patty came up beside her lacing her arm through Ayelis' and kicking her feet up in a goofy looking march. Ayelis laughed and almost joined in on Patty's parade. Whatever the reason, having these three show up was making her day. When the four of them reached the appartment, they were greeted by Lyall at the door who was already on edge with worry.

"Ayelis! Where were you?" he was nearly in a panic. "We tried calling Maka and everyone else. Although this does explain why Liz didn't answer."

"Obviously. Where's your dork of a brother?" the elder thompson tried to look in past Lyall, but couldn't really see anything.

"He's upstairs. Now back to my question, Where were you?"

"Playing basketball. When I got home you two weren't back yet, so I went out for a while." she gave him a sheepish grin.

"We just happened to find her on the court." Kid added in to the explanation.

"Yeah! Ayelis and Kid kicked our butts! It was awesome!" Patty jumped up, mimicking some of the movements from earlier in their game.

"Well at least you're home. Thanks you guys for walking with her."

Kid nodded, as Lyall thanked the trio for being there. He was starting to get the feeling that something really was up with them. Ayelis was spacing out more than ever and her partners were always wondering off on her. He wondered if it had anything to do with Ayelis' mother still being around. Lyall seemed concerned about something and Kid had a feeling it was something big. In any case though they all said good night, and the three headed back towards Gallows Manor. He would have to keep a look out for anything suspicious, in case his hunch was right.

Ayelis was glad to have had the company for the evening, but she didn't like how Lyall was treating her like a little girl. Why was he so upset that she wasn't home? It's not like she wasn't allowed to go out once in a while too.

"What the problem? All I did was go for a walk." she eyed her partner carefully, "I can take care of myself you know. There's more to being a meister than just relying on your weapons."

"I was just worried okay. You usually leave a note or something." he shrugged.

Ayelis sighed, and headed upstairs to take a shower. The day had been an odd one, and she was tired. Hopefully though the next day would have a new assignment for her and she could get back into the swing of things. Her soul collection was too far behind and she wanted to get going. She couldn't quite understand it, but the thought of Lyall being so overprotective gave her the sudden urge to fight along with a small pain in her chest, before it vaished just as quickly.

"What was that?"

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><p><strong>And another one bites the dust. I know theres been a lot of school and less action, but even a good story needs a build up to the best parts. I promise I'll be getting to some of the action and more exciting stuff soon. You have to remember though, Ayelis just got back into the swing of things so she needs time to loosen up ^_^<strong>

**Anywhoo! Please leave me a review ~.~ they help me get inspired and bring more chapters sooner.  
><strong>


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